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LOYOLA, 



THE 



PAPAL SYSTEM 



FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT TIME. 



A HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF 



"i-SM^r-y 



MM BOCIRli, CUll. Ai PEiCIl 



OF THE CHURCH OF ROME. 



BY WILLIAM CATflCART, 

PASTOR OF THE SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
PUBLISHED BY CATHCART AND TURNER. 

1872. 



The UtiKARY 
OF Congress 

WASHINGTON 






TO 



THE FEIENDS OF PROTESTANT CHRISTIANITY, 



AKD 



v.f- 



THE CANDID MEMBERS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 



THIS WORK 



IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 



BY 



THEIR OBEDIENT SERVANT, 



THE AUTHOE. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 

CATHCART AND TURNER, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
STEKEOTVPED AND PRINTED BY 

S- A. GEORGE & CO. 



PREFACE. 



The objects aimed at in this work are to sketch the 
birth, growth, and maturity of every Romish belief and 
practice ; to furnish a contrast between papal and ancient 
Christianity, to present all decrees, canons, and other tes- 
timonies in their original languages and in translations ; 
to show the bearings of popery upon some of our cher- 
ished institutions ; to describe the present observances of 
the Catholic Church; and to give reliable, and generally, 
Romish authorities for every important statement; together 
loith the pages, or the hooks and chapters, hy which quota- 
tions can he verified. This treatise is entirely undenomi- 
national. 

It is not intended for the learned, but for the mass of 
English readers ; and the extracts in Latin and Greek are 
designed to furnish proofs of the truth of all leading decla- 
rations, which can be easily translated in every village, 
and in most rural districts of our highly favored land. 

Not a few atrocious transactions have been entirely 
omitted, because, while they may be perfectly true, the 
evidence seemed insufficient to support them. 

The Author has never been in the communion of the 
Church of Rome, but he hopes that the information 
which he conveys to the reader from credible witnesses 
will not be less valuable on that account. 

Eusebius, Socrates, Sozomen, Theodoret, and Evagrius 
wrote their Ecclesiastical Histories inside the first six 
centuries ; they belonged to the Church universal, and en- 
joy the confidence of the Christian world. The same state- 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

ment applies to Ireneus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Cyprian, 
Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, Hilary, and in 
the main to Tertullian and Origen. 

Venerable Bede, William of Malmesbury, Matthew of 
Westminster, Matthew Paris, and Ingulph of Croyland 
were English monks, who wrote histories from the eighth 
to the middle of the thirteenth century which are held in 
very high and deserved estimation. 

Du Pin was "a priest and doctor of divinity " of the 
faculty of Paris in 1688 ; his History^ issued in parts, 
bears two certificates of approval from the Sorbonne, for 
centuries the most celebrated Catholic School in Europe. 

The work called "Canones et Decreta GonciUi Triden- 
tini " — Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent — was 
published at Leipsic with the approbation of the Catholic 
authorities of Saxony, and is the most important book in 
the Roman Church. 

The " Catechism of the Council of Trent," issued under 
the same sanction and in the same city, can receive no 
higher favor from popes and ecclesiastics than for centu- 
ries it has enjoyed. 

Father Paul Sarpi, who wrote " The History of the 
Council of Trent," lived and died a Roman Catholic, was 
secretary of the first president of that Synod, and wus, 
perhaps, among the ablest men of the age. 

The Yulgate which furnished our quotations has the 
text approved b}^ Clement YIIL and SixtusY. The edi- 
tion of the Councils by Labbe and Cossart, which we 
have frequently used, has the highest reputation in and 
out of the papal Church. 

May this volume in some humble measure serve the 
interests of liberty, education, and true religion. 

Philadelphia, December 13^A, 1871. 



CONTENTS 



PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 

THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH. 

Plantinoj of the Gospel in England — Persecutions of the Anglo-Saxons — 
Landing of Augustine — He meets some of the Ancient British Chris- 
tians on the Severn — His demands — They reject the Pope — Augustine's 
miracle — The test of a holy man — Ethelfrid attacks the Ancient 
British — Bangor — Council at Whitby — King Oswy despotically decides 
the controversy in favor of Rome — Synod at Hertford — The Papacy 
crushes all opposition in England 15 

THE POPES HAVE NO POWER IN THE IRISH CHURCH FOR MANY 
CENTURIES AFTER CHRIST. 

Christians in Ireland before St. Patrick — His birthplace — Captivity — Con- 
version — His call to preach in Ireland — No connection with Rome — He 
invents the Irish Alphabet — His Bible Christianity — Columbanus and 
his Bible — Clement — Irish monasteries are Bible Schools — They re- 
jected the Pope — Bishop Dagan refuses to eat with a Popish missionary 
— Pope Honorius, and John the Pope elect, admonish the Irish — Irish 
missions in France and Germany — Columbanus— Boniface in Germany 
— Ireland not Papal ground in the twelfth century — The English bring 
the Irish into harmony with the Pope 23 

THE ANCIENT SCOTCH CHURCH. 

The missionary Ninias — Columba, the Apostle of Scotland — His charac- 
ter — Bridius — lona — Success of Columba — Gospels which he wrote — 
The Scotch clergy loved the Scriptures — Aidan — His character — His 
love for the Bible — The Scotch clergy and Romish customs — They will 
not practise Popish ceremonies — Adamnan abbot of lona becomes a 
Romanist — King Naitan in the eighth century, subdues his country- 
men to Rome 30 

5 



b • CONTENTS. 

COUNCILS FOR SEVEN CENTURIES REPUDIATE PAPAL 
JURISDICTION. THE COUNCIL OF NICE. 

Character of its members — Constanline called it — The Pontiff is not pres- 
ent — His delegates have no important |)lace — The Emperor manages it 
—The sixth Canon — Constantine confirmed the decrees of the Conncil — 
All Bishops required to confirm them — Pope Liberius — Hosius, the 
leading Bishop of the Christian world 34 

^ COUNCIL OF SARDICA. 

It was convoked by the Emperors — The Eastern Bishops— Hosius Presi- 
dent — Three famous canons — This body was not a general Council — 
Deception by the Popes 40 

CONSTANTINOPLE. 

Summoned by Theodosius — Macedonius — Dignity conferred on the See 
of Constantinople — The Pope 41 

EPHESUS. 

This Council was called by the Emperor — Nestorius — Cyril was Presi- 
dent — Celestine 43 

CHALCEDON. 

Convened by the Emperor — Eutyches — St. Euphemia — Pope Leo's repre- 
sentatives — The Emperor — The twenty-eighth Canon 43 

THE FIFTH GENERAL COUNCIL MET AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 

Convened by Justinian — The Pope was in the city, and refused to attend 
its meetings , 48 

THE SIXTH GENERAL COUNCIL WAS HELD IN CONSTANTINOPLE. 

Called by the Emperor — Its President — Its decree condemning Pope 
Honorius as a heretic 49 

ANOTHER COUNCIL HELD IN THE SAME CITY, A. D. 692. 

Called by the Emperor — Its thirty-sixth canon — Its decrees were signed 
by the Emperor first — Christendom at the beginning of the seventh 
century 50 

BISHOPS AND PRESBYTERS THE SAME OFFICERS. 

Acts XX. 17, 28 ; Titus i. 5, 7 ; 1 Pet. v. 1, 2— Tertullian— Irenseus— 
Jerome — Augustine — Chrysostom — Isidore — Stillingfleet — Cranmer — 
Usher 58 



CONTENTS. 



THE EQUALITY OF ALL BISHOPS. 

Origin of Episcopacy — Cyprian — Augustine — Jerome — Synod of Antioch 
— Hilary — Gregory the Great 



THE MEANS BY WHICH THE POPE BECAME SOVEREIGN OF ALL 
CATHOLIC CHURCHES. 

The great principle was found in the words : '' Thou art Peter," etc. — 
This text first introduced at Chalcedon — Leo the Great — Peter becomes 
a Deity — Lawrence of Canterbury — Augustine — Chrysostom- Theo- 
doret — The keys — Binding and loosing — '* That thy faith fail not " — 
"Feed my lambs" — The Apostles knew nothing of Peter's power — 
Peter could have no successor — Universal Bishop— Pliocas — Boniface 
— Gregory— Mohammedan victories — Eastern Patriarchs crushed — 
Papal Missions — Gregory and the Saxon youths — Augustine — Conver- 
sion of the Anglo-Saxons — Winfrid and the Germans — Papal interfer- 
ence in the troubles of Bishops — The Pope ever ready for an appeal — 
Papal intermeddling with the affairs of Kings — Childeric and Pepin — 
The Pallium — An honorary gift— Then indispensable to oflSce — Purga- 
tory — Its influence — The benefits conferred by Popes — Their Bishops 
— Their sanctuaries — They sent out monks as teachers of all useful 
arts — Forgeries — The Donation of Constantine — Decretals — The inqui- 
sition — oaths , 70 

THE POPE CLAIMS TO BE LORD OF KINGS AND 
GOVERNMENTS. 

The Pope gave England to the Conqueror — Pope Adrian gives Ireland 
to Henry II. — Pope Paul makes Ireland a Kingdom — England under 
an interdict — Innocent excommunicates John — He deposes him from 
his crown— He publishes a crusade against him — John is compelled to 
resign his crown — Innocent nullifies Magna Charta — Paul III. excom- 
municates Henry VIII. and declares his throne vacant — Pius V. deposes 
Queen Elizabeth — The Pope above all Kings — Innocent IV. deposes 
the Emperor Frederic II. — Gregory VII. deposed Henry IV. — "He 
can give and take away whatever men have " — Alexander VI. divides 
undiscovered countries between Spain and Portugal 100 

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT 

A Council is inspired — The causes leading to the call of the Council — 
Those invited — The Presidents — Order of speaking — Authorities to be 
quoted — Position of the Pope in the Council — He used sacred bribes 
and holy jesters — One of its decrees — Claims of the clergy — De Fer- 
rieres — Boy Bishops 136 



CONTENTS. 



BAPTISM. 



Justyn Martyr — Terfcullian — Cyprian — Candidates for baptism in the 
early Church — Preliminaries — Ceremonies after baptism — Modern 
Romish baptism — Chrism in the water — A. woman may baptize — 
Anointing after baptism — The white dress — The lighted candle — Bap- 
tism of heretics — Baptism and salvation — Protestant children baptized 
in Catholic Churches 153 

CONFIRMATION. 

Its commencement— TertuUian — Basil — The Greek Church — Modern 
Romish Confirmation — The form of words — Oil and balsam — Sponsors 
— When conferred 165 

THE LORD'S SUPPER, THE EUCHARIST, THE MASS. 

The Saviour's Supper — The Supper from the second to the sixth cen- 
tury — The offerings— Posture of communicants— Frequency of observ- 
ing it — The Eucharist carried home — Ministers send it to each other — 
No adoration of it — The communicants — The dying — The dead — 
Infants — The Greek Church — St. Augustine — Pope Innocent — Pope 
Gelasius — Decree of Trent — Some substituted water for wine — 
Some honey and water — Some added cheese— No private masses — 
Consubstantiation — The elements symbols — TertuUian — Clemens 
Alexandrinus — Cyprian — Origen — Eusebius — Chrysostom — Ambrose 
— Augustine — Pope Gelasius — Facundus — Isidore of Seville — From 
Consubstantiation to Transubstantiation — Paschasius Radbert — 
Charles the Bald — Bertram — Rabanus — Herigar — John Scotus — 
Berenger — Trials — Gregory VII. — The name Transubstantiation — 
The Lateran Council — It is a propitiatory sacrifice— Christ is in the 
mass, soul, body and divinity — A whole Christ in every particle — The 
mass worshipped — Commemoration of the wheaten deity — The Eu- 
charist in procession — A Corpus Christi procession in Spain — Incense 
— A Avicked priest can change the bread and wine — Half communion 
— Constance — Catholics dislike the change— Demands in Trent for the 
cup — The Pope may give the cup — The words which change the 
elements — The mass a novelty — The Protestant side — The body of 
Christ eaten by the Catholic corrupts — Christ's miracles apparent — 
The Duke of Buckingham — Divinities growing in the gardens 169 

THE CONFESSIONAL. 

Chrysostom — Ambrose — Augustine — Laurentius — The Emperor Theo- 
dosius and Ambrose — Penitents at church doors — Different classes of 
penitents— Penance seldom permitted twice — Penitentiary confessor — 
Absolution — Confessional in the middle ages — Auricular confession 



CONTENTS. y 

established — The priest truly absolves — No confession by letter — 
Secrecy — Posture of the penitent — Penitent's first request— Questions 
of the priest — Catholic Prayer Books and indelicate questions — The 
priest must be answered— Deaf confessors — The Scriptures 198 

EXTREME UNCTION. 

The Greek Church anoints to restore — Jonas of Orleans — Council of 
Chalons — Unction from the ninth century — Adopted in the Council of 
Florence — The parts anointed — Ceremonies in applying the unction... 219 

THE SACRAMENT OE HOLY ORDERS. 

Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons — Metropolitans— Patriarchs — Deacon 
— Archdeacon — Deaconess — Subdeacon — Acolyte — Exorcist — Reader 
— Doorkeeper — Singer — Copiatse — Parabolani— Cardinals — Choice of 
Pope — Decree of Trent — Grace given by ordination— Tonsure — Its 
shape — Ancient Scotch — Ring and crozier — St. Patrick's staff — The 
mitre — The tiara — The keys — Official garments of the clergy 225 

MARRIAGE. 

A church arrangement in early times — First cousins forbidden to marry 
— The widow who married before a year — Sponsors and marriage — 
Marriage with a deceased wife's sister — Second marriages — Third mar- 
riages — The ring — The solemn kiss — Joining right hands — Council of 
Trent — Marriage one of the seven sacraments —The Church can in- 
crease impediments — a single life — Matrimonial causes— All times not 
proper for marriage — The parish priest and marriage — The prohibited 
degrees — Dispensations — Marriage received in a state of grace — Dif- 
ferences of religion and marriage — Vowing chastity and marriage — 
Divorce — Marriage forbidden between Catholics and heretics — The 
children of a Protestant marrying a Romanist — Ceremonies at a Catho- 
lic marriage. 236 

THE CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY. 

No authority from Christ -Clergy married in second century — In the 
third — In the fourth a stigma was placed on clerical marriage — The 
Council of Nice — Paphnutius — Many married bishops — Council of 
Toledo — Synesius — Council of Carthage — Council in Ireland — Celi- 
bacy in the sixth century — The Council of Trullo — The wives of the 
clergy openly acknowledged in the West — Gregory VII. attacks the 
marriage .of priests — The opposition — Gregory's weapons — Marriage 
among the clergy in the sixteenth century — The Council of Trent — 
The embassador of Bavaria— The Emperor Ferdinand— Charles IX.— 
The German clergy— Celibacy triumphs — The Pope and the Greek 
married clergy at the Council of Florence — The married Maronite 
priests 244 



10 CONTENTS. 

CATHOLIC JUSTIFICATION. 
Improper views, and curses 261 

PURGATORY. 

Nowhere in the early Church — Praying for the dead in the end of the 
second century — Bede's purgatory — King Charles' — The dread of pur- 
gatory — The Greek purgatory — Masses and alms-deeds 263 

INDULGENCES. 

At first a long Church penance — Among the Arians a fine taken for 
penance — The same custom in England — Works of supererogation — 
Bull of Clement VII.— Bull of John XXIII.— John Huss— Leo X.— 
Tetzel — His mode of conducting business — Tax on special sins — Form 
of an indulgence — Trent decree-s them wholesome 270 

THE WORSHIP OF RELICS. 

Relics in the fourth century — The cross of Calvary discovered — The cross 
of Apamea — The cross in Persia — A portion at Constantinople — in 
Rome — in England — in France — in Venice — The blood of Christ in 
England— The holy lance — Christ's robe — His likeness— The holy 
staircase — The cradle of Jesus — His manger — A garment of his mother 
— Her hair — The chains of Peter — His chair — The Baptist's head — 
St. Alban — Blood of Januarius — Simon Stylites — St. Genevieve — 
St. Martin— St. Guthlac— The head of King Edmund— St. Wereburge 
— St. Thomas Aquinas — St. Thomas A'becket — Oaths taken on relics 
— Relics in Palestine — Infatuation about relics — Decree of Trent 280 

MIRACLES. 

The river opens for St. Alban — Constantine cured by baptism — St. Dona- 
tus kills a dragon — Flies and gnats — A Jewish boy and the Eucharist — 
Masses loose chains — Chrism brought from heaven — St. Mamertus and 
a great tire — Holy water — St. Swithin and a basket of broken eggs — 
St. Dunstan and the Devil — The curse of a priest — Dogs — A palsied 
man — A lion and a serpent — A woman full of devils — The Saviour and 
St. Francis — A miracle in Ireland 297 

INVOCATION AND WORSHIP OF SAINTS AND ANGELS. 

Bortholomew hears Guthlac — Guthlac hears his monks — Pope innocent 
and St. Edmund — St. A'becket and the Straits of Dover — Litany of 
the Saints 304 



CONTENTS. 11 



THE WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 

Mary a goddess — Jehovah stern — The worship of Mary began in Arabia 
— She gives Pope Leo a new hand — Elfleda and Mar}' — She heals a 
clergyman — She appears to St. Godric — She visits St. Simon Stock — 
Prayers to Mary by St. Ephraim — St. Bernard — Devout Blasius — St. 
John Daraascen — St. German — Ildefonsus — Litany of the Blessed Vir- 
gin — Mary the author of salvation — Two ladders to heaven — The tri- 
angular Trinity — Four persons in the Godhead — Novel source of Mary's 
merits — Religion of Italy the gospel of Mary — The Council of Trent 
— The Catechism of Trent — Gregory XVI. — Christ rebukes his mother 
— Scripture, commonsense, and the worship of Mary 312 

THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES. 

Images scarce in the first three ages — Leo the Emperor and images — His 
son and Image worship — The Empress Irene and the worship of 
images — Charlemagne denounces image worship — The Council of 
Trent — Creed of Pope Pius IV.— Catechism of Trent — Fables — A 
statue of Jesus — An image of the Virgin — The Bambino— x\n old 
image of Jesus— Gregory XVI. — The Roman Church removes the 
Second commandment — An Italian's astonishment 328 



-A 



PAPAL INFALLIBILITY AND THE COUNCIL OF 1870. 



Infallibility a miracle — What is it ? — Liguori — Cornelius Musso — Absur- 
dity of it in John XIL — Benedict IX. — Alexander VI. — Ca tholics in 
h osts re jected it — Council of Constance — Fortj^ speeches against it in 
the VaticarrXovmcil — Discussion suppressed — Manning's admissions jf 
— Pope Honorius a heretic — "Ko£e Vigilius takes two opposite sides of ^ — 
a question of faith — The Vatican TTouncil — its numbers — rules — The 
first Constitution on Faith— the second — Several points decided — The 
decree of Infallibility — Its results — " Faith and morals " — A universal 
tyranny 340 



K 



THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. 

he fearlessness of Protestants— The Committee of the Council of Trent 
on the Press — The tenor of nine rules — The tenth rule entire — Punish- 
ment at the discretion of a bishop or inquisitor — Galileo in the Inqui- 
sition for Science 350 

INTENTION IN THE PRIEST NECESSARY TO THE 
VALIDITY OF A SACRAMENT. 

Decrees of Trent on Sacraments generally — The canon on Intention — 
A Pope may not be a Christian, and all his acts nullities, if intention 
was wanting — A dying priest confesses the want of- intention in many 

357 



12 CONTENTS. 



SECRET SOCIETIES. 




Antipathy to Freemasons and Odd-Fellows — Bull of Clement XII. 
against Freemasons— Trial of a Freemason in the Inquisition — x^rch- 
bishop Cullen on Freemasons and Fenians — The Confessional and 
Masonry or Odd Fellowship 361 



THE FAMILY AND PUBLIC WORSHIP, AND THE BOOKS 
OF PROTESTANTS. 

The Irish Catholic naturally kind — His anger when a tract is given him 
— His creed — He is questioned in the Confessional — '' The IVIission 
Book" — "The Garden of the Soul " — Penances — The restraints of a 
moral convent 364 



THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND PUBLIC EDUCATION. 

The need of education under a free government — Eome no friend of Edu- 
cation — Mexico — Spain — Ireland — The Eternal City — Seymour — Home 
wants all schools under her control — Naples— Gladstone — Spain — 
Eome must have separate schools in Protestant countries — Pius IX. and 
Protestant and Jewish schools in Austria — The Bible in tlie public 
schools — Priests want a division of the school funds — " Godless 
schools" in Ireland — '-Mission Book" — "' Have you sent your chil- 
dren to heretic or godless schools ? " — The priests wish to isolate Catho- 
lic children — They will not give the Catholic masses light — St. Patrick's 
schools, Edinburgh — A people trained from childhood among us, and 
yet not with us — The patriot and our school system 36 



SINS TAKEN AWAY BY GIFTS AND FAVORS. ~ 

Gifts to obtain pardon built churches and monasteries — St. Eligius— Offa, 
king of Mercia— Bertulph— Ethelwulf— Beorred— King Edgar— Wil- 
liam Rufus— Canute— King John -Henry III. — Burmah and kind acts 
— Marquis of St. Martin— Seymour buys a mass in Rome— Receipt — 
— " The Mission Book " — Decree of Trent— Gavin— One mass counts 
for a hundred by Papal privilege to some places 375 



NO SALVATION FOR PROTESTANTS. 

Rome consigns to perdition all who reject her faith— Creed of Pius IV. 
—Bull ''In 6'ter^a X)<?w«m "—Bishop Hall 386 



CONTENTS. 13 

THE MASS IN LATIN. 

THE WORD ^' LATIN '^ IN THE GREEK TONGUE CONTAINS THE 
NUMBER OF THE BEAST. 

The beast of John— His number — Ireneus and Tiafftvoj—" Latin " a 
proper name for the Church of Rome— From thirty to seventy nations 
spoke Latin in the Vatican Council — Pope Yitalian and Latin — The 
decree of Trent 389 

SINCERITY OF CATHOLIC PRIESTS. 

A conviction among Protestants tliat they are hypocrites— Their training 
— Protestants to them are enemies of truth— Their education gives no 
religious light — The priests are full of earnestness- They build the 
churches — Luther and his parents— A miracle about our Indians.. ..... 393 

HYMNS AND THOSE WHO COMPOSED THEM. 

Singing in the primitive Church — Singers not always saints— Hymns in 
second centurj^ — Thedoxology — The angelical hymn — The Thrice-holy 
— The Hallelujah— The Benedicite— Clement of Alexandria — Hilary — 
Ambrose — The Te Deum — Ariu-s- Chrj^sostoni — Ephraim the Syrian — 
Bede — Csedmon — A hymn by St. Patrick — Hymns of the Greek Church 
— Protestant hymns in Catholic churches— Hymns to St. Aloysius— St. 
Rose — St. Rodriguez— St. Ignatius — St. Elisabeth — Blessed John 
Berchmans— St. Philip Neri— St. Patrick— Blessed Peter Claver 396 

ROMAN CATHOLICS WHO WERE WORTHY OF ALL 

HONOR. 

Sir Walter Scot-t's injustice to the Covenanters — Leighton — Claverhouse 
— Distinguished Romanists — Bede — Charlemagne — The barons who 
secured Magna Charta— Roger Bacon — Matthew Paris — William Tell 
— Sir William Wallace— Col umbu.s — John Gutenberg — Charles Carrol 
of Carrolton 409 

THE INQUISITION. 

The inquisition— Dominic— His mother's dream— Spanish Inquisition- 
Laws — All ages and classes under it — The accused never sees the accu- 
sation or witnesses — Advocates— Everything must be secret— A libe- 
rated Jew — No religious services for prisoners— Nothing of the outside 
world known — Every Catholic bound to accuse a heretic— Inquisitors 
use hj'pocrisy — A girl destroys herself and several relatives— Dead here- 
tics tried— The body of a dead lady dug up and burned —A prisoner tor- 
tured for evidence to convict him— Catholics suffer -Maria and Jane 
Bohorques— The torture room— Ropes cut both arms and thighs to the 
bone in eight places— Both shoulders are dislocated — All joints dislo- 
cated—Greased feet and a hot fire —The arms dislocated and the body 



14 CONTENTS. 

whipped — The victim on an iron instrument applied to his back— The 
Satanic virgin — Torture of a woman — Llorente— The Sanbenito— Chil- 
dren and grandchildren share in punisliment— An Auto da Fe in Portu- 
gal — Inquisition in Rome in 1848— Suggestive memorials — Pius IX. 
canonizes a barbarous Inquisitor — Inquisition and Catholics— Only 
Rome had an Inquisition— Victims seized at night — Never heard from 
except at an Auto da Fe 413 

THE SCRIPTURES. 

The Bible— The books that were in it — Josephus— Melito of Sardis — 
Earnest efforts to place the Bible in all languages— The clergy hate the 
Bible in the thirteenth century— Council of Toulouse— Wycliffe's 
Bible — His bones burned — Council of Trent— Decree declaring inspired 
the Scriptures, Apocrypha, and the unwritten word of God — The Vul- 
gate the only Bible of the Catholic Church— Private judgment for- 
bidden — A Catholic Bible in the vulgar tongue is prohibited— No Bible 
in any book-store in Rome— Students at Maynooth and the Bible 433 

THE FOUR GREAT FOUNDERS OF MONKISH 
INSTITUTIONS. 

Popularity of Celibacy— Antony— His birthplace— Liberality — Influence 
— Habits— Benedict fled from Rome, hid at Sublacum— He founds 
twelve abbeys — He locates on Mount Cassino —His Rule — St. Dominic 
— Born in Spain —He founds an order— The Inquisition their favorite 
invention — St. Francis— He Avas charitable— His unattractive appear- 
ance—He secures the confirmation of his order— His sermon to the 
crows, magpies, and kites— His success 444 

THE JESUITS. 

Loyola^s birth — He is wounded — He is converted -He gives himself and 
sword to our Lady of Montserrat — He retires to a cave and writes his 
only work — At thirty-three he goes to school —He is sought by the 
Inquisition as a heretic —He founds his order— His motto —His' mem- 
bers—Novices — Scholars— Coadjutors— The Professed — The officers — 
Laws for the order— They are all spies on each other— The Society's 
chief aim to fight heretics —Mode of working — Education of the great 
— They make everything easy — Wicked maxims quoted by Pascal — 
They confess kings— They allowed converts in India to retain heathen- 
ism — The Jesuit a gentle lamb to the masses of Catholics — Loyola com- 
mends the cunning of Satan to the imitation of two Jesuits— They cringe 
to Louis XIV. — The fifth branch of the order are spies everywhere — 
The Jesuit puts on any garb -religion - or calling— They were ex- 
pelled from Spain — Portugal - France— Naples — Parma— Russia— Sup- 
pressed by Clement XIV. — They poisoned him— They were reestab- 
lished by Pius VII 449 

Conclusion 465 

Appendix 467 

Index 473 



PAPAL SUPREMACY OYER THE CHURCHES 

WHEN IT BEGAN, 

AND THE MEANS BY WHICH IT SUCCEEDED. 



The Bishop of Eorae claims absolute and lasting kingship over 
all the churches of Christ on earth ; and he presumes to assert that 
he has exercised this authority by the gift of Christ from the first 
planting of Christianity. 

Before tracing the outlines of that marvellous history in which 
Roman pontiffs are seen marching from victory to victory, until 
they waved their spiritual swords in undisputed triumph over the 
prostrate form of western Christianity, and sat down as conquerors 
in the throne of the Church designed for her Heavenly Head, we 
shall first show by unimpeachable witnesses that no papal king 
reigned over the earthly spouse of Christ for many ages after his 
ascension into' Paradise. We shall appeal to the ancient churches 
of Britain and Ireland ; to the great councils of the first seven cen- 
turies; and to the admissions of eminent fathers about the equality 
of presbyters and bishops at the beginning, and of all bishops a 
little later for infallible testimony, to prove that the bishops of 
Rome had no dominion over the universal Church for hundreds of 
years after Peter's supposed presence in the city of the Caesars. 

the popes had no jurisdiction over the ancient BRIT- 
ISH CHURCH FOR THE FIRST SEVEN CENTURIES. 

The authorities differ about the men who first planted the Gos- 
pel in Britain. Some hold that Joseph of Arimathea and twelve 
others, about A. D. 63, introduced salvation among the islanders. 
Others declare that Paul preached the glad tidings in England. 



16 THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH. 

And others affirm that Britain was converted by missionaries sent 
from Rome, A. D. 176, by Pope Eleutherius, at the request of 
Lucius, an imaginary English king.* 

According to Matthew Paris, the faith of Jesus was first 
preached to his countrymen in A. D. 167.t Neander J declares 
that the Gospel reached the Britons as early as the end of the 
second century ; that it came to them, not from Rome, but from 
the East ; and that in very early times the Britons were a Chris- 
tian nation. They differed widely on some points from the Roman 
Church, and were in perfect harmony on these questions with the 
Eastern Churches. This latter circumstance renders it all but cer- 
tain that some Greek missionary, like Irenseus of Lyons, was their 
first Christian teacher. 

After the invasion of Britain, in the middle of the fifth century, 
by the Anglo-Saxons, the churches were plundered, burned, or 
turned into heathen temples by these idolaters, and the Christian 
religion was threatened with extinction in every section of their 
future home. They might be described as rivalling the fiercest 
monsters of persecution of any age. They destroyed the temples § 
of Christ; they slew the priests at the altars; they gave the Holy 
Scriptures to the flames ; they showed their contempt for the vene- 
rated tombs of the martyrs by covering them with mounds of 
earth ; and the clergy who escaped had to hide in woods, and 
deserts, and mountain retreats. And after seizing and wasting the 
whole land, they compelled the wretched remnant of the ancient 
Britons to fly from their ruined churches and blood-stained homes, 
and to settle in " Cornubia,|| or, as it is called by some, Cornwall ; 
Demeeia, or South Wales; Venedocia, or North Wales." And 
there they clung to the faith of Jesus. 

St. Augustine lands in England, 

And as he and his forty brethren are soon enriched with a large 
list of converts among the Anglo-Saxons, he learns something of 
the ancient Christian inhabitants of England ; and, being a man 

* Geoffrey's British History, lib. iv. cap. 19. 

f At A. D. 596. t Vol. iii. p. 10. Boston, 1869. 

§ Matt. Paris, at a. d. 464. f Id. a. d. 586. 



THE ANCIENT BPaTlSH CHURCPI. 17 

of considerable self-importance, he demands a conference with 
them, that he may compel them to change their religious customs, 
and recognise the pope and himself as their masters. The bishops 
and teachers of the ancient Britons meet him at Augustine's 
Oak,* on the Severn ; he there proposes that they shall give up 
their time of keeping Easter, and adopt the pope's; that they shall 
administer baptism according to the custom of the holy Roman 
Church, and preach the word of God to the Anglo-Saxons ; and if 
they will yield on these three points, he offers to tolerate patiently 
their other customs, though contrary to his. Augustine strongly 
urges these demands. He insists, too, that they shall receive him 
as their archbishop, and the pope and Church of Rome as authori- 
ties to be respected and obeyed. Deynoch, abbot of the cele- 
brated monastery of Bangor, whose opinion in the ancient British 
Church was most influential, replied : " We f are all ready to listen 
to the Church of God, to the pope at Rome, and to every pious 
Christian, that so we may show to each, according to his station, 
perfect love, and uphold him by word and deed. We know not 
that any other obedience can he required of us towards him whom you 
call the pope, or the father of fathers. Bid this obedience rce 
are prepared constantly to render to him, and to every Christian.'^ 
When neither Augustine's prayers nor arguments could secure 
compliance, Augustine proposed a miracle to decide which is the 
true way to the heavenly kingdom. A blind man is brought for- 
ward, whose sight J the bishops of the Britons could not restore. 
Augustine, however, had better success ; for, on bowing the knees 
and begging the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that sight 
might be given to the eyes of one, that thereby the grace of spir- 
itual light might illumine the hearts of many believers, immedi- 
ately the eyes of the blind were opened. But the Britons, either 
supposing that the healing was no miracle, or that it was not from 
God, obstinately refused to give up their customs. Some time 
after, a larger number of the British clergy met Augustine in con- 
ference about the same controversy ; and before entering the coun- 
cil the British priests took advice from a " holy and discreet man," 
who led the life of a hermit, and who told them to follow Aus^us- 

*Matt. Paris, at a. d. 603. fNeander iii. 17. :}: Matt. Paris, at a. d. 603. 
2 



18 THE ANCIENT BEITISH CHURCH. 

tine if he slionld prove himself to be a man of God, and he in- 
formed them that they would discover this by his humility. " If," 
said he, " the words of the Lord mark his spirit and life; ' Learn 
of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart,' it is to be believed that 
he bears Christ's yoke himself, and offers the same to you." And 
he told them that they should let him reach the place of meeting 
first, and if he arose to greet them on entering, he had the Sa- 
viour's humility; but if he sat still, he was proud, and they must 
have nothing to do with him. Augustine did not arise, and they 
rejected himself for their archbishop, and his Romish traditions. 
" The servant of the Lord,"(?) as Matthew Paris says,* then threat- 
ened that if they would not have peace from the Anglo-Saxons as 
friends, they must have war from them as enemies ; and soon 
after, at the instigation, it is judged, of Augustine, Ethelfrid, a 
powerful king of the Northumbrians, assembled a large army at 
the city of Legions; and, just as he was about to make an attack 
on the Britons, he observed their priests in large numbers, stand- 
ing apart, engaged in prayer for the success of their brethren; and 
on learning the object at which they were aiming, he said : " If, 
then, they cry unto their God against us, in truth they fight 
against us, though they do not bear arms ; for they assail us with 
their prayers." He, therefore, attacked them first, and slew 1200 
of them; then he destroyed the army of the Britons, called ''im- 
pious " by Matthew Paris ; but an army not unworthy of the name 
of holy patriots, when viewed in the light of liberty and an open 
Bible. 

Most of the priests came from Bangor, an institution, which, ac- 
cording to Paris, was divided into seven parts, with a ruler over 
each, and in which no section had less than three hundred monks. 

Bede f gives precisely the same account about the meeting with 
Augustine; the three propositions; the blind man whose eyes were 
opened, who, he says, w^as of the Saxon race, not of the British; 
about the meeting of another synod; about the hermit's advice in 
reference to Augustine's humility; about Augustine's sitting pos- 
ture ; and finally about the rejection of Augustine's religious inno- 
vations ; and his insolent claims to authority over British churches. 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 604. f Book ii. chap. 2. 



THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH. 19 

He also describes the slaughter, by Ethelfrid, of the British 
army, soon after; and of the twelve hundred priests who prayed 
for its success, most of whom were from the monastery of Bangor, 
with its seven departments, each division containing more than 
three hundred monks, who all lived by the labor of their own 
hands. And good old Bede actually thought this slaughter a 
mark of the vengeance of heaven against "perfidious men, because 
they had despised the offer of eternal salvation," when, in reality, 
they only despised the insolent usurpations of Augustine, and the 
pope who sent him, and maintained the rights of a nation's 
Church, which, in the language of Neander,* " withstood for a 
long time the authority of the Romish papacy.'' For seven hun- 
dred years, the British Church maintained its independence of the 
See of Rome, and some portions of it most probably till a much 
later period. 

Geoffrey of Monmouth j" states that when Augustine came, he 
found in Britain seven bishoprics, and an archbishopric, all filled 
with devout prelates, and a great number of abbeys, by which the 
flock of Christ was kept in order. He describes, in glowing 
terms, the most noble Church of Bangor, with the seven divisions, 
of which Bede and Paris speak, each section with more than three 
hundred members ; he pays a generous tribute to the learning and 
piety of the celebrated Deynoch, their abbot, " who answered Au- 
gustine with several arguments, that they owed no subjection to 
him, since they had their own archbishop ; neither would they 
preach to their enemies (the Saxons), because the Saxon nation 
persisted in depriving them of their country. For this rea- 
son they esteemed them their mortal enemies ; reckoned their 
faith and religion as nothing, and would no more communicate ivith 
the Angles than with dogsJ' In the next chapter,J Geoffrey gives 
an account of the battle in which the priests of Bangor were 
slaughtered. He says that " Ethelbert, king of Kent (the earliest 
patron of Augustine, whose wife wrote to Pope Gregory to send 
Catholic missionaries into England), when he saw that the Britons 
disdained subjection to Augustine, and despised his preaching, was 

*Vo]. i. p. 85, f Geoffrey's British Hist., book xi. chap. 12. 

Jld., book xi. chap. 13. 



20 THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHUHCH. 

highly provoked, and stirred up Ethelfrid and the other petty 
kings of the Saxons to raise a great army, and march to the city 
of Bangor, and destroy the Abbot Deynoch, and the rest of the 
clergy who held them in contempt^^ Geoffrey agrees with Bede and 
Paris in everything about the battle, except in the number of eccle- 
siastics slain. He places it at two hundred. 

William of Malmesbury "^ is less minute, but he is careful to state 
that Ethelfrid vented his fury upon the priests first, and that their 
number must have been incredible for those times. He states that 
the ruins remaining were yast, such as were to be seen nowhere 
else ; that their monastery was mighty even in its desolations. 

Bangor was the university for the education of the British 
clergy, as lona was for the Scotch; it was the divinity school; it 
was the headquarters of ancient British missions ; it was the seat 
of Deynoch, the master-mind of the British Church. And as that 
Church had never recognized the headship of any pope, and had 
recently and decidedly declined to receive the pope's authority in 
changing their customs, or in imposing an archbishop upon them, 
Bangor must be blotted out. The British Church must be extin- 
guished, if it will not be enslaved. After this butchery, the suc- 
cess of Augustine and his friends among the Saxons becomes 
unexampled ; all the race in Britain submits to the missionaries 
of Gregory the Great, and the ancient British Christians pass into 
obscurity ; but their principles live in Scotland, and spread over 
the whole Saxon settlements in the North of England. There is 
discord in families, and anger in sacerdotal hearts, and unhappi- 
ness in the Eternal City itself, because Scotch priests in England 
will not wear a circular tonsure, nor keep Easter on the Roman 
day, nor obey the popes. A council is called at 

Streaneshalch — JVhitby, 
It met in 664. "Whitby Abbey at this time contained a large 
number of men and women. It was a seat of learning for the en- 
tire region around ; it was a school of divinity, out of which in a 
little time five bishops were graduated, men of distinguished abil- 
ity and piety : Bosa,t Hedda, Oftfor, John, and Wilfrid. Hilda 

* Book i. chap. 3. f Bede's Eccl. Hist., book iv. chap. 23. 



THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH. 



21 



taught the inmates of her monastery justice, piety, chastity, and 
other virtues, and particuLarly peace and charity. Her wisdom 
and zeal extended her reputation to disUmt localities ; and not only 
the obscure, but princes and kings asked her advice. She com- 
pelled the inmates of lier house to study tlie Holy Scriptures, and 
become thoroughly acquainted with the will of God. She was, 
undoubtedly, a woman of distinguished piety, and of a vigorous 
intellect, and eminently fitted to direct the studies and toils of 
the great male and female community over which she presided. 
To her house the advocates of papal supremacy and of the non- 
Roman Church of North Britain came. Among the distinguished 
persons present were King Oswy,* Bishop Coleman, with his 
Scottish clerks. Bishop Agilbert, with the priests Agatho and 
AVilfrid, James and Romanus. The Abbess Hilda, with her 
troops of followers, the venerable Bishop Cedd, ordained many 
years before among the Scots, were on the anti-papal side. King 
Oswy seems to preside in the council. The discussion is chiefly 
in the hands of Coleman and AVilfrid. Coleman, on behalf of the 
Free Church, defended his observance of Easter by the facts that, 
" he received the time of keeping Easter from his forefathers, men 
beloved of God, from the custom of John the Evangelist, the dis- 
ciple beloved of our Lord, and of all the churches over which he 
presided.'^ Wilfrid maintained the popish time of keeping Easter, 
because all Rome, where mighty Peter and Paul taught, must be 
right; because the same time was observed in Italy, France, Af- 
rica, Asia, Greece, Egypt,.and all the world, " except f only these and 
their accomplices in obstinacy (^ I mean the Plots [Scots] and the 
Britons'), who foolishly, in those two remote islands of the world, 
and only in part even of them, oppose all the rest of the universe.'^ 
As the discussion progressed wdth much Christian courtesy and 
gentleness by Coleman, with decided ability and insolent de- 
rision by Wilfrid, he quoted Christ's words to Peter: " Thou art 
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it; and to thee I will give the 
keys of the kingdom of heaven ;" and then he inquired if any of 



* Becle's Eccl, Hist., book iii chap. 35. 

I" Id. book iii. chap. 2o. Matt Paris, at a. d. 663. 



22 THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH. 

the fathers who had taught Coleman his customs could be com- 
pared to that first bishop of Rome? The king demanded from 
Coleman, if it was true, that our Lord had spoken these words to 
Peter? Coleman admitted the fact. The king then asked if he 
could show such power given to the great Scottish father, St. Co- 
lumha ? Coleman replied, ^' No.^^ Then said the king : " He is 
the doorkeeper, whom I w^ill not contradict; but I will, as far as I 
know and am able, in all things obey his decrees, lest when I come 
to the gates of the kingdom of heaven, there should be none to 
open them, he being my adversary who is proved to have the 
keys.^^ Oswy's decision was difficult to dispute ; he had a sharp 
sword, a strong arm and a violent temper : and as he imagined 
that everything pledged to Peter was promised to all Roman 
bisliops, from that moment he became the most obsequious servant 
of the pontiffs, and under his influence the Council of Whitby en- 
throned Romanism in the North of England. Coleman very 
wisely went into Scotland among his own brethren. The other 
advocates of his opinions were silenced. But these opinions, em- 
bracing an anti-popish Easter and tonsure, had their principal 
strength from opposition to papal supremacy over the government 
of the Church; and this idea could not be easily destroyed. It 
worked in men's minds, and another council was convoked at 

Hertford."^ 
x4.rchbishop Theodore convened the synod A. D. 673. It was 
composed of bishops and other teachers of the Church, who loved 
and were acquainted w^ith the canonical statutes of the fathers. ^ It 
adopted ten chaj^ters, and signed them. And then it was voted 
that every offender should be excluded from sacerdotal functions, 
and from " our society.'' The very first of these " chapters " 
reads : " That we all in common keep the holy day of Easter on 
the Sunday after the fourteenth moon of the first month." f This 
anti-papal leaven was still disturbing the Roman bishops. Theo- 
dore, M'ho called this synod, Avas a Greek by birth, a mere depen- 
dent of the Bishop of Rome, who had sent him into England to fill 
its highest ecclesiastical office, and to do the bidding of the suc- 

^ Bede's Eccl. Hist., book iv. cliap. 5. f Matt. Paris, at a. d. 674. 



THE ANCIENT IRISH CHURCH. 



23 



cessor of Peter. Doubtless, at Hertford he was carrying oat his 
orders. 

Theodore * was the first Roman prelate who could carry out his 
primacy over all England. He banished the usages of the Scotch 
Free Church out of the Anglo-Saxon nations. The Council at 
Hertford was a potent agent in accomplishing this task. Tlie 
ancient Britons retained their church independence for a longer 
period, and it is not definitely known when it became ex- 
tinct, t 

Here, then, is a lofty monument, rearing its head for at least 
seven centuries into the heavens, upon which is written in great 
letters, "THE EARLY CHRISTIANS KNEW NOTHING 
OF THE POPE'S SUPREMACY OYER THE 
CHURCHES." 

THE POPES HAVE NO POWER IN THE IRISH CHURCH FOR MANY 
CENTURIES AFTER CHRIST. 

Tlie people of Ireland, for ages, were called Scots. Bede tells 
us that Laurentius, the successor of Augustine, wrote an epistle, 
in wliich he exhorted the "Soots X w/io inhabit the island of Ireland,'^ 
as well as the ancient Britons, to maintain conformity with the 
Church of Christ spread over the world. This was the common 
designation of the inhabitants of Ireland for ages. It is not cer- 
tain at what time the first light of the gospel reached the natives 
of Ireland; but it is well known that there were Christians in 
that country before the time of St. Patrick. He, however, 
properly merits the title of 

The Apostle of Ireland. 

There are conflicting accounts of his birth, nationality and acts, 
some insisting that there were three Patricks, whose deeds are 
commonly credited to. one. The most probable history of the 
great Patrick is, that he was a native of Scotland ; that his name 
was Succathus ; and that he had a godly father, who gave him re- 
ligious instruction in early life. At the age of sixteen, he was 



* Neander, vol, iii. 2"). f Bingham's Antiquities, book ix. chap. 1, sec. 11. 
X Eccl. Hist., book ii. chap. 4. 



24 THE ANCIENT IRISH CHURCH. 

captured by pirates, and sold as a slave to the Scots in what is 
now called Ulster in Ireland. His daily toil in the neighborhood 
of Slemish, a beautiful mountain, from whose top the prospect is 
sublime, and his helpless and hopeless wrongs, led him to think 
of that Saviour of whom he had heard so much on the banks of 
his native Clyde. He touchingly describes his exercises at this time 
in his confessions : * ^^ I was sixteen years old, and knew not the 
true God ; but, in a strange land, the Lord brought me to a sense 
of my unbelief, so that, although late, I minded me of my sins, 
and turned with my w'hole heart to the Lord my God, who looked 
down on my lowliness, had pity on my youth and ignorance, who 
preserved me ere I knew him, and who protected and comforted 
me as a father does his son, ere I knew how to distinguish between 
good and evil." He found Jesus, and afterwards escaped from 
bondage and reached his friends. After passing through various 
changes, some of them of a very unhappy character, he felt he 
must go and preach to the pagans of L'cland the salvation of Jesus. 
He had calls in visions of the night, and deep impressions through- 
out the day, that he must be a missionary in Ireland ; and, in op- 
position to remonstrances from friends, and misgivings in his own 
mind, after some preparation, he started for the scene of his future 
labors and successes. It is probable that he was ordained a 
bishop in Britain in his 45th year, notwithstanding all the tales 
of monks about Pope Celestine sending Patrick to convert the 
Scots to the faith of the Holy Trinity. 

Nenniusf says that he preached in Britain some time before he 
w^ent to Ireland. The Irish, he says, beheld in Patrick the most 
astonishing powers, natural and supernatural. He gave sight to 
the blind, cleansing to the lepers, hearing to the deaf; he cast out 
devils, raised nine persons from the dead, and redeemed many cap- 
tives of both sexes. He wrote three hundred and sixty-five 
canonical and other books ; he founded as many churches, and or- 
dained as many bishops, and three thousand presbyters. He con- 
verted and baptized twelve thousand persons in Connaught. He 
baptized seven kings in one day, the sons of Amalgaid, king of 
Connaught. He fasted forty days and nights on the summit of 



* Neander, vol. ii. 122. f Nennius, at a. d. 452. 



THE ANCIENT IRISH CHURCH. 



25 



Croagh Patrick, and made three requests to God for the people of 
Ireland. First : That God would receive every repenting sinner, 
even at the last moment ; second, that the Irish might never be 
exterminated by barbarians ; and, third, as Ireland will be over- 
flowed with Avater seven years before the judgment, that the 
crimes of the people might be washed away through his interces- 
sion. 

Matthew Paris says that in preparing for his ministry " he read * 
through the Holy Scriptures, and made himself master of their divine 
mysteries J^ He preached in Ireland eighty years, and reached the 
age of 122. He repeats everything mentioned by Nennius in such 
a way that it is evident either one is a copy of the other, or that 
both are transcripts of some old document. 

Patrick invented the Irish alphabet, and infused a love for 
learning and for the sacred Scriptures among his converts, which 
rendered the monastic schools of Ireland the wonder and admira- 
tion of Europe for several ages. 

Patrick was a man of extraordinary ability ; he gathered the 
people by beat of drum, and listening thousands caught the words 
of life as they fell from his lips. In his day chieftains wielded im- 
mense power over their dependents, and the Irish apostle laid siege 
to their hearts first, and he quickly enlisted them and their clans. 
Their bards were men of commanding influence, and Patrick se- 
cured many of the most illustrious of them, and induced them to 
compose eloquent songs in honor of the man of Nazareth. Ireland 
under this remarkable preacher was completely renovated, and 
piety of a high order reigned all over the Green Isle. St. Pat- 
rick's religion was 

Bible Christianity. 

This truth is strikingly exhibited in the history of the Church 
which he planteJ. The monkish historians of the middle ages 
have many allusions to this fact in the character of the Irish 
Christians. " Bede, speaking about Coinwalch, says : ^' There came 
into his kingdom out of Ireland a certain bishop called Agilbert, 
by nation a Frenchman, but who had then been in Ireland a long 



*Matt. Paris, at a. d. 491. 



26 THE ANCIENT IRISH CHURCH. 

time, ^ for the purpose of reading the Scriptures.' ^'* Bede speaks 
of the most reverend father Egbert, who long led a monastic life 
with St. Chad in Ireland, praying, observing continency, and 
^^ meditating on the Holy Scriptures.''^ '\ Columbanus, a celebrated 
Irish monk, a missionary on the continent, was accustomed to re- 
tire from his convent into the dense forest, bearing on his shoulder 
"a copy of the Holy Scriptures, % which he wanted to study in the 
solitude." Bishop Clement, an Irishman who had some trouble 
with the renowned Boniface, a])0stle of Germany, is said to have 
denied ^^ to the writings § of the older fathers, and to the canons of 
councils, authority binding on faith," from which Neander justly 
infers '^ that he conceded such authority to the Holy Scriptures 
alone, acknowledging them as the only fountain and directory of 
Christian faith." And speaking of the pious Irish generally, Ne- 
ander says : ^^ Ireland || became the seat of famous monasteries, in 
which the Scriptures were diligently read, ancient books eagerly 
collected and studied. They became missionary schools." Like 
the revered Patrick, they became masters of the mysteries of the 
divine Word by careful reading. For a couple of centuries, Ire- 
land was the Bible school of western Europe, whither the student 
and man of devout meditations came to read the Scriptures. The 
Church of St. Patrick was distinguished by 

Generosity, 

In A. D. 664, a pestilence swept over the south and north of 
England, destroying a great multitude of people, and creating uni- 
versal dismay. The same plague raged with equal fury and 
fatality in Ireland. Many of the English nobility, and persons of 
inferior rank from England, were at the time in Ireland, either 
" for the sake of divine studies, or of a more continent life. The 
Scots T (Irish) willingly received them all, and took care to supply 
them with food, and also to furnish them with books to read, and 
their teaching gratis." Such is the testimony of the English Bede 
about men who rejected the pope whom he revered, and who be- 

* Bede's Eccl. Hist., book iii. chap. 7. f Id. book iv. chap. 3. 

X Neander, vol. iii. 31. § Id. vol. iii. 61. \ Id. vol. iii. 10. 

i Bede's Eccl. Hist., book iii. chap. 27. 



THE ANCIENT IRISH CHURCH. 27 

longed to a foreign nation. The Irish Church, for centuries after 
St. Patrick, was 

Independent of the Pope. 

Easter in the West showed whether a Christian was a papist or 
a Free churchman. The Irish followed no Romish custom, and 
they were specially vigorous in declining the papal time for ob- 
serving Easter. Laurentius deplores their obstinacy in a letter 
addressed to them and the ancient Britons, in 605, soon after he 
succeeded Augustine as Archbishop of Canterbury. Himself 
wearing the livery of the bishop of Rome, he wanted the indepen- 
dent churches of Britain and Ireland to assume it too. And in 
this letter he tells the Scots that he once had a very exalted 
opinion of them ; but Bishop Dagan (an Irish bishop) " coming 
into this aforesaid island, and the Abbot Columbanus in France 
informed us that the Scots (Irish) in no way differ from the 
Britons in their behaviour; for Bishop Dagan "^ coming to us, not 
only refused to eat with us, but even to take his repast in the house 
ivhere ive icere entertained^ It is evident that the Irish had no re- 
spect for the Roman bishop at this time, when such an insult, 
solely on religious grounds, was leveled at one of his exalted pre- 
lates. 

Pope Honorius wTote to the Irish about Easter, and gave them 
to understand how presumptuous it was for a handful of people, 
living on the outskirts of the earth, to think themselves wiser than 
" all the ancient f and modern churches of Christ throughout the 
world, and to celebrate a difierent Easter.^^ John, his successor, 
when pope elect, wrote to the Irish, admonishing them al)out 
Easter, telling them that " some among f them, contrary to the or- 
thodox faith, do through ignorance reject our Easter, when Christ 
was sacrificed." But neither popes nor archbishops could turn the 
hearts of these old heroes from the Bible and the usages of mighty 
Patrick. 

The Irisli missionaries in France and Germany established 
churches and monasteries everywhere, taught the purest piety, and 
exemplified it in their own lives; and if they did not convert na- 

* Bede's Eccl. Hist., book ii. chap. 4. f Id., book ii. cliap. 19. 



28 THE ANCIENT IRISH CHURCH. 

tions, they led hundreds of thousands to the true Saviour, who 
read the Scriptures, trusted Jesus, and walked with God. These 
men were a great source of trouble for a long period to the nomi- 
nal Christians around them, who belonged to the old Frankish 
Church, and in later times to the Romish Church set up in Ger- 
many by Boniface. They were hated as Christ's disciples were 
detested by the Pharisees ; and their worst enemies were not the 
numerous Pagans, but the Christian priests of Gaul and Germany. 
And we are not surprised at this treatment ; for these missiona- 
ries loved God, and were not much afraid of men. They had an 
offensive way of telling popes, when they were wrong, that they 
disliked heresy or iniquity in any one ; and of practising their 
Church rites in the heart of Germany or France before the eyes 
of Romish priests or bishops, entirely indifferent to their expostu- 
lations and prohibitions. Columbanus* wrote Gregory the Great 
that he ought not to be governed by a false humility in refusing 
to correct what was erroneous, even though it bore the authority 
of Pope Leo the Great ; ^' for,'' said he, " a living dog may be 
better than a dead lion." He adjured Boniface IV., by the unity 
of the Christian fold, to give him and his people permission, as 
strangers in France, to observe their own ancient customs ; for they 
were just the same, dwelling in the wilderness, as if they were in 
their own country. And when Boniface, the Englishman, gath- 
ered such hosts in Germany from idols to the gos])el of Augustine 
of Canterbury, and of the Pope of Rome, the pontiff, expecting 
some trouble from a man coming from the country of the ancient 
Britons, and Scotch heretics, and Irish independents, prescribed a 
solemn oath for Boniface, which he took at the tomb of St. Peter 
in Rome, which, in substance, was as follows ; f '^ I promise thee, 
the first of the apostles, and thy representative. Pope Gregory, 
and his successors, that, with God's help, I will abide in the unity 
of the Catholic faith ; that I will in no manner agree with any- 
thing contrary to the unity of the Catholic Church ; but will in 
every way maintain my faith pure, and my cooperation con- 
stantly for thee, and for the benefit of thy Church, on which was 
bestowed by God the power to bind and loose, and for thy repre- 

t Id. vol. iii. 48, 49. 



I 



THE ANCIENT IRISH CHURCH. 



29 



sentative aforesaid and his successors. And whenever I find that 
the conduct of the presiding officers of churches contradicts the an- 
cient decrees and ordinances of the fathers, I will have no fellowship 
or connection with them ; but, on the contrar^y, if I can hinder them, 
I will hinder them; and, if not, report them faithfully to the pope.^^ 
This entire oath supposes that in Germany, the See of Boniface, 
there were bishops and churches who broke the unity of tlie pope's 
faith by not receiving him as their master, wliich he was deter- 
mined to crush. And Neander is not mistaken in asserting that 
the oath of Boniface w^as expressly * intended to suppress the Irish 
and British churches in Germany. The author of a learned work 
recently published, f states the exact truth when he says : " In the 
AVest, the ancient Irish and the ancient British Church remained 
for centuries autonomous, and under no sort of influence of Rome." 

The English gave Ireland to the Pope. 

In A. D. 1155, Ireland was not in the papal ranks. And 
Henry II. of England, sent a solemn embassy to Adrian, to 
Rome, to solicit his permission to "subdue J Ireland, and bring 
into the way of truth its bestial inhabitants, by extirpating the 
seeds of vice among them.'' Adrian readily consented, and issued 
a bull, declaring, among other things, " that to extend the frontiers 
of the Church, to teach J a rude people the doctrines of the Christian 
faith, to extirpate the seeds of vice out of the Lord^s field, to secure 
to St. Peter the annual sum of one penny for every house, and to 
extend the Christian religion, he might seize Ireland.^^ § It is very 
evident that the Irish of A. D. 1155, were, like Bishop Dagan and 
Columbanus, that they had nothing to do with Rome ; and 
while in the twelfth century they had lost the piety and learning 
of the sixth, seventh and eighth, they were still free from the Ro.- 
man yoke. And tliese ages of freedom from Romish interference 
and ecclesiastical supremacy are the most glorious centuries in the 
history of the Irish people. 



* Neander, vol. iii. 48, 49. f " The Pope and the Council," p. 69. 
X Matt. Pans, at a. d. 1155. 

§ The entire Bull is given in an article on Civil Supremacy of Popes, post 
pp. 1C2, 1C3 



30 THE ANCIENT SCOTTISH CHUKCH. 



THE POPES HAD NO POWER FOK MORE THAN SEVEN HUNDRED 
YEARS IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 

The country known, in comparatively modern times, as Scot- 
land was blessed with gospel light at a later day than England or 
Ireland. It is reported that Ninias, a native of North Wales, in 
A. D. 400, preached the gospel to the Picts or ancient Scotch,* and 
that his labors were attended with some success in the southern 
portions of their country. But the conversion of the entire people 
was reserved for other men, and for a later j^eriod than the time 
of J^inias. 

Columba was the Apostle of Scotland. 

Columba was brought up in the evangelical faith of St. Patrick, 
in Ireland. He was of an ardent spirit, a man of great enterprise, 
and he was governed by supreme love to Jesus, and burning zeal for 
the salvation of perishing men. To him nothing possible, however 
difficult, was a permanent obstacle. He would readily make the 
greatest sacrifices, and begin the grandest and most laborious under- 
taking. Previous to his departure from his native land, he built 
a noble monastery in Ireland, at Dearm Ach, f — The Field of 
Oaks, now called Derry, which became the parent of many similar 
houses in Ireland. 

His heart bled over the idolatry and perdition of the neigh- 
boring Picts ; and, about A. D. 565, he entered Scotland. Bridius, 
a powerful monarch, was king of the Pictish nation, whose favor 
the missionary soon obtained. And, as he and his twelve com- 
panions sought the blessing of Heaven upon their labors, and 
toikd with apostolical zeal and purity of life, they quickly gathered 
as a harvest the nation of the Picts. J 

The king gave him the island of Hii, or lona, as a mission sta- 
tion. The island is about three miles long, and a mile in breadth. 
Here Columba erected a monastery and churches ; and soon the 
whole island was covered with cloisters and temples. And a mul- 
titude of monks, students, and devout visitors, seeking holy light, 

* Bede, book iii. chap. 4. f Id., book iii. ch. 4. :j: Id., book iii. cli. 4. 



I 



THE ANCIENT SCOTTISH CHUKCH. 31 

crowded the sea-girt and heaven-favored island. There ''' tha 
clergy, nobles, and sovereigns of Scotland were educated. There 
missions were planned for the north of England and the continent 
of Europe. There the brightest epochs of gospel zeal and success 
were equalled. And to that birth-place of Christian light all Scot- 
land looked with devout gratitude and holy enthusiasm. For 
generations, the Scottish kings were buried in consecrated lona ; 
and its abbot ruled the whole churches of the land.f 

Columba died A. D. 597. A copy of the gospels, J said to be in 
his handwriting, and known as The Book of Durrow, is still 
in existence in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. There are 
also another copy of the gospels, called the Book of Kells, and a 
copy of the Psalms, supposed to have been written by him, which 
are held as sacred treasures by the learned. 

The EvangeliGol Character of the early Clergy of Scotland. 

It is not to be understood that everything taught or practised 
by those good men was Scriptural or wise ; but sprung, as they were, 
from a people emerging out of barbarism, and not long since 
out of heathenism, there is ground for astonishment at their 
measurable purity of doctrine, and at their remarkable charity and 
holiness of life. The faithful historian of the early Anglo-Saxon 
Church, though himself an ardent Roman Catholic, and though 
earnestly condemning the Scotch clergy for their opposition to 
papal customs and claims, declares that these men were renowned 
for their continency, their love of God, and their observance of 
monastic rules. " By reason of their being so far away from the 
rest of the world,'' he says, " they only practised such works of 
piety and chastity as they could learn from the prophetical^ evan- 
gelical, and apostolical writingsJ^ Well would it have been for 
Christians of all ages if they had learned their faith and practice 
from the same full and blessed fountains. 

Of Bishop Aidan, one of their chief prelates, the most flattering 
record is made. He was a man of singular meekness and piety, 
and very zealous in the cause of God ; he lived according to the 

* Bede, book iii. chap. 4. f Neander, iii. 10. 

X Moslieim, p. 214, note. Lond. Ed., 1848. 



32 THE ANCIENT SCOTTISH CHUBCH. 

tenor of his own teachings ; he neither sought nor loved worldly 
possessions of any description ; he delighted in giving to the poor 
the gifts he received from princes and kings ; he travelled on foot, 
not on horseback, and when he met an unbeliever, he tried to lead 
him to trust in Jesus ; and if he fell in with a Christian, he en- 
deavored to encourage him by words and actions to alms and good 
works. All his companions, whether monks or laymen, were em- 
ployed in " Reading the Scriptures, or in learning tlie Psalms. 
This was the daily occupation of himself, and all that were with him, 
wheresoever they wentJ^ * What was true of Aidan was nearly as just 
about Coleman and many of his brethren who labored in Scotland 
and the north of England in the end of the sixth, and in the 
seventh centuries. 

These Bishops and Monhs were not Romanists. 

In that age, when the Bishop of Rome was recognised as a supe- 
rior prelate, the allegiance demanded was very slight. He had 
nothing to do with the consecration of bishops; the metropolitan 
attended to that business. Except in England, and a little after- 
wards in Germany, his chief connection with the appointment of 
archbishops was to send them the pall. Loyalty to Rome was 
shown by keeping Easter at the Romish time, by wearing a cir- 
cular tonsure instead of one shaped like a crescent. And as the 
sturdy Irishmen who led the Picts to Christ had learned no regard 
from the successors of St. Patrick for the authority of the pope, 
they taught the Pictish nation to receive nothing at his dictation . 
And as stoutly as the immortal Covenanters resisted Popery in its 
full strength, or in its diluted forms, did these old Christians resist 
every papal encroachment upon their usages and rights. 

These Scotch priests ministered in A. D. 664 to Oswy, king of 
the Northumbrians, who kept Easter at their time ; his wife, 
Eanfleda, a Kentish princess, observed Easter after the Roman 
time. And it happened that when the king, having ended his 
fasting, was celebrating Easter, the queen and her followers were 
still fasting and keeping Palm Sunday ; and as the Scotch would 
not yield a jot, there was confusion in many families, and not a 

* Bede, book iii. chap. 5. 



THE AXCIE?s^T SCOTTISH CHURCH. 33 

little pious indignation in the breasts of papal priests and 
bishops. 

Adamnan, abbot of lona, came to Alfrid, king of Northumbria, 
on an embassy from his nation, and was assailed while in Alfrid's 
court with all kinds of arguments to submit to the Roman usages, 
and to lead his countrymen along with him. Adamnan fell ; but 
though, as Abbot of lona, he w^as the first ecclesiastic in Scotland, 
and though he endeavored to " Bring his own people that were 
in lona, or that w^ere subject to that monastery, into the w^ay of 
truth J yet in this he could not prevail.^' * 

After the celebrated council held in Whitby, in England, in the 
time of Oswy and Hilda, wdien the Scotch were condemned by the 
king. Bishop Coleman resolved never to bow the knee to Rome, 
and collecting f all his missionary monks at the famous monastery 
of Lindisfarne, and about thirty English brethren whom they had 
instructed, and who, like themselves, preached Jesus unfettered by 
papal chains, he returned to lona, where they could worship God 
without the presence of a priest, monk, or bishop, who paid reve- 
rence or recommended respect to the See of Rome. 

For the first seven hundred years of the Christian era, the ser- 
vants of Christ in Scotland were as bitterly opposed to the preten- 
sions, and to many of the ways of the bishops of Rome, as the im- 
mortal John Knox. Kever till, through the superstition and 
tyranny of N^aitan, king of the Sootch, A. D. 7 16, J was the Church 
of Columba placed under the feet of the Roman bishops. By such 
an act of wicked despotism as marked the revocation of the Edict 
of T^antes, the early Church of Scotland was robbed of her inde- 
pendence, and finally of her Bible and her purity ; and fitted to 
produce Cardinal Beaton, and the other licentious and cruel men, 
who, at the Reformation, were a stain upon Christianity, and a 
reproach upon the land rendered illustrious by the hallowed memo- 
ries of Columba and lona. 

The ancient Churches of Ireland, England, and Scotland, loving 
an open Bible, and cultivating purity and love, by the testimony of 
friends and foes, paid no deference to papal authority ; knew 
nothing of the prince of the apostles or his successors, and were as 

* Bede, book v. chap. 15. \ Id., book iv. chap. 4. X Id., book v. chap. 31. 
3 



34 COUNCILS OF THE FIRST SEVEN CENTURIES. 

independent of the See of Rome as any Protestant Church of the 
nmeteenth century. 

THE POPES HAD NO SUPREMACY OF JURISDICTION IN THE GREAT 
COUNCILS OF THE FIRST SEVEN CENTURIES. 

For fifteen hundred years a general council has been the chief 
centre of authority, the chief source of hope to the Church of 
Rome. It is supposed that a universal synod is governed by the 
Holy Spirit, and reaches infallible conclusions ; and, therefore, 
ordains laws that must work for the best interests of the Christian 
world. 

In modern times, the pope calls a council, and presides over it 
by deputies ; no question can be discussed in it without the per- 
mission of his representatives ; its decisions are worthless till he 
confirms them ; from beginning to end, it is his abject slave. And 
he claims the widest range of authority over these judicatories. 
Leo X., in 1512, with the approbation of his Lateran Synod, 
says : * "That the Roman PontijBF, for the time being, as one who 
has authority over all councils, hath alone the full right and 
power of convening, transferring, and dissolving councils ; and 
this not only from the testimony of Holy Scripture, the sayings of 
the holy fathers, and the decrees of our predecessors, and of the 
sacred canons, but also by the proper confession of councils them- 
selves, is manifest.^' Pius II., elevated to the popedom in 1458, 
says if ^^ Among general councils we find nothing ratified without 
the authority of the pope, when one was reigning, because the 
Church is not a body without a head, from which all power flows 
to the members.^^ For centuries, the doctrine has been firmly held, 

* "Solum Romannm Pontificem pro tempore existentem, tanquaraanctori- 
tatem super omnia concilia liabentem, tam conciliorum indicendorum, et 
transferendorum, ac dissolvendorum plenum jus et potestatem habere ; 
nedum ex Sacrse Scripturae testimonio, dictis SS. Patrum ac aliorum Roman- 
orum Pontificum etiam praedecessorura nostrorum, sacrorumque canonum 
decretis, sed propria etiam eorundem conciliorum confessione mauifeste con- 
^teV—Conc. Lahh. Can. Lat. V. Cons . Leo X., coll 9G7. D. Venet. 1728. 

f "Inter concilia nullum invenimus unquam fuisse ratum, quod stante in- 
dubitato prsesule absque ipsius auctoritate convenerit ; quia non est corpus 
ecclesia sine capite ; et omnis ex capUe defluit in membra potestasy — Gone, 
Labb. torn, xix., ru Papce II., Bulla Betract., coll. 204. B. Venet. 1728. 



COUNCIL OF NICE. 35 

and sometimes haughtily expressed, that the birth, life, death, and 
toils of a council, by the decree of Jehovah himself, depended on 
the Roman Pontiff. For seven centuries of the Christian era 

THE BISHOP OF ROME HAD NO MORE POWER IN A GENERAL 
COUNCIL THAN OTHER BISHOPS. 

This declaration is capable of being sustained by any amount of 
evidence. From a very early day the bishop of the chief city of 
the world-embracing empire of Rome, in virtue of his place of 
residence, was held in high esteem, his name was placed first in a 
list of bishops, and his opinion was naturally enough received 
with great attention. But when you examine his power as he sits 
in person, or by delegates beside his brethren in councils, he is 
weak as other men in the episcopal office. 

The first great synod which ever sat was a convention of the 
highest importance. It met to compose the bitter differences 
excited by the Arian controversy. It convened to show in its 
composition, workings, and claims what all coming oecumenical 
councils should be ; it assembled at 

Nice, A. D. 325. 

The number of bishops attending it is variously represented 
from 250 to 318. The place in which its sessions were held was 
a room in the imperial palace.. Many bishops were there who 
still enjoyed the power of working miracles — ^^one of them had 
raised the dead. The bitter persecution of Licinius had maimed 
or scarred many of them : * some had their right eyes torn out, 
some their right hands cut off; and some by holding hot iron 
had lost the use of both hands. The Council of Nice had 
largely the appearance of an assembly of martyrs. \Yhen they 
met in their chamber, a low chair of gold was placed in the centre 
of the hall, and the Emperor, the first Christian sovereign in the 
world, of unusual height, of majestic aspect, attired in the 
gorgeous robes of Roman royalty, entered the meeting and sat 
upon the seat of gold. It was a scene never to be forgotten by 
these victims of heathen cruelty, who had witnessed the butchery 

* Eccl. Hist., Theodoret, book i. chap. 7. 



36 coimcrL OF ^^CE. 

of so many of the saints of God. The human master of the 
nations, with a sword of victory, was now the leader and protector 
of the Christian Church ! The council made the celebrated 
Xicene Creed, condemned Arianism, and issued twenty canons. 
After their toils they returned to their homes laden with imperial 
gifts, and cheered with bright hopes. 

The Roman pontiff was not present in the council at any of its 
meetings. He was represented by two presbyters, named Yito* 
and Vicentius, who took no remarkable part in its proceedings. 
There were a score of bishops there whose influence was greater 
than that of the aged bishop of the Eternal City. 

Constantine himself managed the council. There is ground for 
doubting whether it had any other president during most of its 
discussions ; though several persons are said to have occupied this 
position. He delivered exhortations to the council. He heard 
the propositions t of all with patience and attention; reasoned 
with, them, appealed to them, encouraged them, and exercised 
such a marvellous influence over them that he led the whole 
assembly to one mind respecting disputed questions. And for the 
time he became the ruler of the council, and the common father of 
Christendom. 

Accusations t were made in \^Titing, against a number of bish- 
ops, to be presented to the council through Constantine. He placed 
them all in a package and sealed them up without looking at 
them; and when the factions were reconciled he brought out 
these documents and burned them before the parties concerned, 
declaring upon oath that he had not read them; by which he 
showed plainly that he was master of the council, and regulated 
the questions which it should debate. 

Constantine § summoned its members together ; and they came 
at the voice of no ecclesiastic in the east or the west. Commanded 
by their Emperor they came to the city called Victory, and held 
the first general council under the auspices of a secular prince. 

Nor had the Roman pontiff anything to do with the presidency of 



* Sozomen, book i. chap 17. 

t Eusebius' Life of Constantine, book iii. chap. 13. 

X Eccl Hist., Theodoret, book i. chap. 11. 

§ Sozomen's Eccl. Hist , book i. chap. 17. 



COUNCIL OF NICE. 



37 



the council. AVlien Constantine entered the apartment used by 
the bishops, and occupied his golden chair, "the * great Eustathius, 
bishop of Antioch," first spoke, and took occasion to compliment 
the Emperor in the most flattering terms. Evidently according to 
Theodoret, who records the speech of the Bishop of Antioch, he 
was the leader of the council. Du Pin says if "It is very proba- 
ble that it was Hosius who held the chief place in the Council of 
Nice in his own name, because he had already taken cognizance 
of this affair, and was much esteemed by the Emperor.^' Du Pin's 
learning is universally recognized; and when it is remembered 
that he was a Catholic, and that he gives it as his conviction that 
a Spanish bishop, in his own name, was probably the first officer 
of the first general council, it must appear ver}" evident that the 
pope had nothing to do with managing the bishops at Xice. 

The sixth canon of the Council of Mce has given for centuries 
the greatest trouble to the advocates of papal jurisdiction over the 
churches of the world, and no effort has been spared to destroy its 
force. This celebrated article gives the same authority over his 
province which the bishop of Rome enjoyed in his see to the 
bishops of Alexandria and Antioch, and by its terms it shoAvs 
clearly that the Roman pontiff was simply on a level with his 
brother bishops in the East. The canon is : t " Let the ancient cus- 
toms prevail which are in Eg^-pt, Libya, and Pentapolis ; that the 
Bishop of Alexandria have authority over all, since this is cus- 
tomary also to the Bishop of Rome. In like manner also as re- 
gards Antioch, and in all other provinces, let the churches preserve 
their dignit}\ This is altogether certain, that if any one become 
a bishop without the consent of the Metropolitan, the great synod 
has determined that he ought not to be a bishop." From this 



* Eccj. Hist . Tbeodoret. book i. chap. T. 

t Du Pin, i. 599 ; Dublin ed., 1723. 

j^ Td dp;^ata tOir xparftrvo, rd sv AiyvrCtcf) xai \l3vyj xai. Ilf i-rajToXf £, 
CJats rbv A?.f|ai'5pfi-aj STtLaxoTtor Tfdvtuiv lyjftv rrjv s^ovaLav, irifitr; xat tuj 
sv Pi^fiYl ^TttaxoKO) rovTO avvr^Oa^ totiv. Ouottoj he xo.l zard rr^v Airiox^t.ai ^ 
xai iv rat? aXXatj srCapx-^^'-i rd Ttpioj^fta cru/^faSat rat? exx7^r^oi.aic. Ka6c?.ov 
b( 7tpohri%oy ixsLvo, on ft rtj ;ttopt$ yvuijxr^^ rov fxr^tpOTto'kirov ysvoiro f ntazorroc, 
'top tOLOvrov r; tvvobo^ v ui-ydj.r^ uiptof fxri b'lv slvo.1 iTtiOxonov, x. t. 7.. — 
C'^nc u. 32. Labbe and Cossart ; Paris ed., 1671-2. 



38 COUNCIL OF NICE. 

decision of the first and purest synod that ever was held, the patri- 
archs of eastern provinces are authorized to perpetuate in their 
respective dioceses the authority conferred by ancient customs: 
and this authority is declared to be according to the usage of the 
Bishop of Rome. Du Pin says :* The most natural sense that 
can be given to it is this : " We ordain that the ancient custom 
shall be observed which gives power to the Bishop of Alexandria 
over all the provinces of Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis, because 
the Bishop of Rome has the like jurisdiction over all the suburbi- 
cary regions. We would likewise have the rights and privileges of 
the church of Antioch, and the other churches preserved; but 
these rights ought not to prejudice those of the Metropolitans." 
It is not a cause for astonishment that the popes should hate a 
canon which placed them on the same platform with prominent 
prelates of the East ; and which, if carried out everywhere, would 
strip them of their entire sovereignty over the Church. 

Constantine f confirmed the decrees of the Council of Nice, and 
immediately they became binding throughout the whole Christian 
world; and he recommended universal obedience to decrees in 
themselves so important and reached in so much unity. 

Xo one in those days imagined that the confirmation of the 
canons of Kice by the Roman Bishoj) was essential to their vali- 
dity. It was, however, a common practice to solicit the ratifica- 
tion of the decrees of a council by all absent bishops ; not with 
a view to give them legal authority, but for the purpose of in- 
creasing the respect in which they might be held. As among 
ourselves, when a petition is adopted and unanimously signed at a 
public meeting, but still other names are AN-anted, and absent par- 
ties are invited to append their signatures, so after a general 
synod adjourned it was common to invite all bishops who were 
not present to endorse its decrees. And through this practice the 
number of bishops at councils has frequently been greatly magni- 
fied; the calculation being based upon the names appended to 
its canons. In this way the Council of Sardica is occasionally 
represented as having three hundred bishops at its meetings, when 

* Du Pin, i. 600 ; Dublin ed , 1723. 

f Eusebius' Life of Constantine, book iii, chap. 23. 



COUNCIL OF NICE. 39 

it had about half that number ; the balance came from the absent 
who subscribed its documents. Constantine himself* recom- 
mended the Nicene decrees to all bishops, and he undertakes to 
secure their assent to them. Pope Liber ius f recommended to 
Constantius : " That the faith delivered at Nice might be con- 
finned by the subscription of all bishops.^^ The Council of Sar- 
dica, after the completion of their work, wrote to the " bishops % of 
every nation commanding them to confirm these decrees.''^ When 
we look at the party calling the Synod of Nice, at its probable 
presiding officer, at the character of its sixth canon, at the confir- 
mation of its decrees by Constantine, at the entire absence of 
alhmons in any form to papal jurisdiction over the Churches, we 
cannot be mistaken in the assertion that the pope had no supre- 
macy in authority in the days of the first Christian Emperor. 

If in the time of the Council of Nice, or if during the first 
few years after its dissolution, there was any man in the Christian 
world who seemed to be the "Head '^ of the Church rather than 
another, Hosius, Bishop of Cordova in S*^)ain, has the strongest 
claim to that position. At the outbreak of the Arian controversy, 
when Constantine became anxious about its angry results, he de- 
termined to send a man of commanding influence into Egypt, 
whose mission might quiet the animosities of Alexander and 
Arius, and out of all Christendom he selected Hosius to transact, 
as he regarded it, the most important business claiming his atten- 
tion in any part of his dominions. Speaking of the mission to 
Alexander and Arius, Sozomen says : § " The emperor deputed 
one who was honored for his faith, his virtuous life, and his stead- 
fast confession of truth, to put an end to the strife which existed 
in Egypt. This man was Hosius, Bishop of Cordova.'^ Euse- 
bius, describing the same circumstance, says : || ^^He selected from 
the Christians in his train one whom he well knew to be approved 
for the sobriety and genuineness of his faith ; and who had before 
this time distinguished himself by the boldness of his religious 
profession, and sent him to act as mediator between the dissentient 

* Eusebius' Life of Constantine, book iii chap. 19, 20. 

t Sozomen, book iv. chap. 11. ij: Id , book iii. chap. 13. 

§ Id., book i. chap. 16. 

II Life of Constantine, book ii chap. 63. 



40 COUNCIL OF SAEDICA. 

parties at Alexandria." In describing the distinguished bishops 
at the Council of Nice, Eusebius classes Hosius among the most 
illustrious. " Even from Spain itself/^ says he, * " one whose fame 
was widely spread took his seat as an individual in the great as- 
sembly.'' The Council of Sardica, in their- synodical letter, speak 
of the bishops forming that body " As worthy of honor and res- 
pect, particularly the venerable Hosius,']' on account of his advan- 
ced age, his adherence to the faith, and his labors in the church." 
Hosius, beyond a doubt, was for some years the leading bishop in 
the Christian world, with the sovereign and the peoj^le. The ce- 
lebrated Athanasius, as quoted by Theodoret, says : " It is un- 
necessary that I should speak of the great Hosius, J that aged and 
faithful confessor of the faith ; of all the bishops he is the most 
illustrious. What council can be mentioned in which he, did not 
preside, and convince all present by the power of his reasoning ? 
What church does not still enjoy the glorious eifects of his minis- 
tration?" This great man who, according to Du Pin,§ presided at 
the first Council of all the Churches held at Nice, and at the 
Council of Sardica, though the pope had delegates there to repre- 
sent him, and who, according to Athanasius, was the chief of&cer 
of all the councils, has evidence to prove that he was the Head of 
the Church, far exceeding anything accorded to the Roman bishops 
in the first seven centuries. 

Sardica. 

This council met A. D. 345, or as others say A. D. 347. It was 
convoked by the emperors Constans and Constantius, as its own 
episcopal || members declare. Theodoret tells us that it had 250 ^ 
bishops when it convened. The object of the council was to 
compose difficulties agitating the Church in connection w^ith Atha- 
nasius, Marcellus, and the Arian controversy. The eastern bi- 
shops, taking umbrage at the composition of the council, withdrew 
in a body. The western bishops, with Hosius as their president, 
proceeded to legislate as a General Synod. The most important 
business transacted by this council was the enactment of three 

* Life of Constantine, book iii. chap. 7. f Theodoret, book ii. chap. 8. 

X Id., book ii. chap. 15. gVol. i. 183 ; Dublin ed., 1723. 

II Theodoret, book ii. chap. 8. ^ Id., book ii. cliap. 7. 



COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 41 

canons, the spirit of which is admirably presented by Du Pin : * 
" They do not/^ says he, "give the Bishop of Rome power to judge 
the cause of a bishop in his own tribunal at Rome; they only give 
him authority to inquire whether it were well or ill determined, 
and in case he find that it was determined wrong, to order a new 
decision of it in the country, and. hy the neighboring bishops of the 
province where it was detetnnined, whither he might send legates 
in his own name to be present, if he thought it convenient/^ Du 
Pin frankly declares that, "The discipline which these fathers 
establish is new.^' * It was never heard of in the Christian Church 
till the Convention at Sardica. And though the jurisdiction con- 
ferred on the Roman Bishop was very slender, not authorizing 
him to judge any ecclesiastic outside the diocese of Rome, but 
simply giving him power to order a new trial by bishops adjoin- 
ing the offender in cases in which he believed* that an unjust sen- 
tence had been imposed, yet it excited the bitterest opposition. In 
fact, the recognition of such an authority in the pope was one of 
the chief causes of that separation which finally divided the 
churches of the East and West. 

The Council of Sardica, on account of the retirement of the 
eastern bishops, was never recognized in that section of the w^orld. 
And as Du Pin says of its decrees : f " They were never put in 
the code of the canons of the universal Church, approved by the 
Council of Chalcedon. The East never received them, neither 
would the bishops of Africa own them. The popes only used 
them, and cited them under the name of the Council of Nice, to 
give them the greater weight and authority J' The popes for cen- 
turies practised this detestable deception, and not only quoted them 
as canons of Nice, but gave them a latitude of application, equally 
astonishing and iniquitous. Only the bishops of the West united 
in the effort to honor a brother prelate ; and of course the sole 
reason why Rome Avas preferred to Cordova was that the City of 
the Seven Hills was the old capital of the empire of the Caesars. 

Constantinople. 
The second council received as general met at Constantinople 
A. D. 381. It was summoned by the Emperor Theodosius to calm 

* Du Pin, i. 606 ; Dublin ed., 1723. f Vol. i. 607 ; Dublin ed., 1723. 



42 COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 

the troubles excited by the heresy of Macedonius. This man 
taught that the Son of God is not of the same substance as the 
Father, but that he resembles him in every particular. He also 
affirmed that the Holy Spirit is a creature. His followers were 
numerous and influential. The council condemned the Macedo- 
nian and some other heresies, and made some changes in the 'Ni- 
cene creed. One of their principal acts was to place the See of 
ConstantinojDle next in point of dignity with the bishopric of 
Kome. Their canon was : " Let the Bishop of Constantinople 
have rank next after the Bishop of Rome, for Constantinople is 
new Eome.^' * 

JSTow in this canon the reason for the elevation of Constanti- 
nople is given : it is because it is new Rome. What is the mean- 
ing of this designation ? It certainly does not imply that Peter 
had founded the Church of new Rome, and after having labored 
on the banks of the Tiber, had conferred equal honor on the city 
of Constantine. But it does mean that as the Roman Bishop had 
the highest rank among prelates, because his residence was the ca- 
pital of the empire, so Constantinople, being now the seat of the 
Emperor's government, the consideration which gave old Rome its 
ecclesiastical rank, must stand in church honors next to the city 
of Romulus. This is the view of the historian Sozomen, who, 
commenting A. D. 450 on this canon, says : f " Constantinople 
was not only favored with this appellation (new Rome), but was 
also in the enjoyment of many privileges, such as a senate of its 
own (like old Rome), and the division of the citizens into ranks 
and orders ; it was ako governed by its own magistrates, and pos- 
sessed contracts, laws, and immunities similar to those of Rome 
in Italy.'' Evidently the point of comparison between the two 
cities was that each had been the seat of government. The canon 
implies that this circumstance had given the pope his sacerdotal 
standing, and on this account the Bishop of new Rome must ap- 
pear next him in church dignity. The Roman pontiff* had noth- 

* Kdvoi' y. 
Tdv uivto' KwvcjravT'n^ODrto^ifOj triiGxoTCov '^/^'^tp to, TipfCi^sla r-'-c tiur? jx^ra 
tov Tfyji *Pu»/i>^5 irCLCxoTtov, 6ta to I >ai a/vtriv vicuv 'Pto^jyv. — Labbe and Cos- 

sart. Cone. ii. 947. Paris ed. 1671-2. 
f Book vii. chap. 9. 



COUNCIL OF EPHESUS. 43 

ing to do with calling this council, presiding over it, or inspiring 
its canons. jSTor did his see reap any honor from its decrees — 
especially from the one which we have gi\'^n. 

Ephesus. 

The Council of Ephesus met A. D. 431. It was summoned by 
the Emperor Theodosius "^ to condemn the so-called heresy of jNTes- 
torius. He had taught that Mary was not the "Ilother of God^^-f 
but the mother of Christ, that '^ That could not be called God 
which admitted of being two months old or three months old.^^ f 
His idea was that the Godhead of the Son dwelt merely in the 
body of Christ, so that he was composed of two persons. These 
opinions excited general horror. Two hundi-ed bishops gathered 
at Ephesus to try Xestorius, and in due time they condemned him. 
Cyril was President of the Council, j The imperial letter con- 
voking the council was addressed to " Cyril and the presidents of 
the holy churches in every quarter.^' In this council, for the 
first time, a practice was introduced by the pope which very cun- 
ningly increased his power, and at the same time flattered his 
friend. As one man in some financial corporations can cast the 
vote of another who is absent, so Celestine, Bishop of Rome, 
authorized Cyril to represent him as well as himself in the Synod 
of Ephesus, and Cyril, to increase his own importance, seems to 
have yielded to the temptation. But Cyril was master of the 
council without the aid of Celestine ; the Emperor's summons ad- 
dressed to " Cyril and the presidents of the holy churches in eveiy 
quarter '^ proclaimed to all the favor which Theodosius had for 
Cj^'il; and his desire that he should be first bishop in the 
approaching Synod. 

Chalcedon, 

The next General Council was summoned by the Emperor 
Marcian in A. D. 451. § It met first at Nice, and was transferred 
to Chalcedon. It was composed of 630 bishops. It was called 
to dispose of the heresy of the monk Eutyches. He denied that 

* Evagrius' Eccl. Hist., book i. 3. f Id., book i. 2. | Id., book i. 4. 

§ Id., book ii. chap. 2. 



44 COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON. 

the Saviour had two natures ; he insisted that the body born of the 
virgin was not real flesh and bloody but merely the appearance of 
it, so that he had no suffering. The council met in the church 
of St. Euphemia, directly opposite Constantinople. This * holy 
place consists of three immense buildings. One is open to the 
sky, including a court of great extent, and adorned on all sides 
with columns ; and next to it there is another structure resembling 
it in length, breadth, and columns, but with a protecting roof 
On the north of this, and facing the east, stood a circular building, 
skilfully terminating in a dome, and surrounded in the interior 
with beautiful columns which support a gallery. Under the 
dome, at the eastern side, is a splendid enclosure, within which are 
guarded the sacred remains of Euphemia, the saint and martyr. 
They are preserved in a long coffin of silver, ingeniously made. 
The mightiest prodigies are said to have been wrought by these 
relics. 

Here the emperor, ecclesiastics, and multitudes from New Eome 
are accustomed to gather at stated times ; and, through a little door 
which can be opened, the priests introduce an iron rod with a 
sponge on the end, which they turn around several times, and 
withdraw covered with stains and clots of blood. The clots are 
permanent ; the blood retains its color, and the greatest blessings 
rest on those who possess the gory sponge. And the quantity 
obtained is so great that a liberal distribution is made to the 
sovereign, priests, people, and distant friends. But the most 
curious part of the story is that St. Euphemia frequently appears 
in a dream to the bishops and others, inviting them to come and 
" gather a vintage ^' among her bones. Leo, f the Bishop of old 
Kome, urges Marcian to call this council, showing that he had no 
authority to issue such a summons. And Leo the Great, Bishop 
of Rome, was^ lacking neither in ability nor in audacity in exacting 
what was due his see, and something more when circumstances 
favored him. 

Pope Leo had three representatives in the council, Paschasinus 
and Lucentius, bishops, and the presbyter Boniface. Marcian was 
the master-spirit of the assembly. Eusebius, for himself and 

* Evagrius, book ii. chap. 3. t Id , book ii. chap. 2. 



COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON. 



45 



others, demanded that a petition should be read in the council, 
addressed to the emperors, and he ended with this appeal : * ^^And 
this we will do on the issuing of your divine and revered man- 
dates to the holy and universal synod of the bishops, highly beloved 
of God, to the effect that they should give a formal hearing to the 
matters which concern both us and the before-mentioned Dioscorus, 
and refer all the transactions to the decision of your piety, as shall 
seem fit to your immortal supremacy. If we obtain this, our 
request, we shall ever pray for your everlasting rule, most divine 
sovereigns.''^ And the imperial commissioners who had charge of 
the council granted the request. In fact, there was nothing done 
in the council without them or their master Marcian. The form 
of one decision of the senators of the council is : f "It seems to us, 
according to God's good pleasure, to be a just proceeding, 
if approved by our most divine and pious sovereign, that Dios- 
corus, the most reverent Bishop of Alexandria ; Juvenalis, the most 
reverent Bishop of Jerusalem ; Thalassius, the most reverent Bishop 
of Csesarea, in Cappadocia ; Eusebius, the most reverent Bishop of 
Ancyra ; Eustathius, the most reverent Bishop of Berytus ; and 
Basilius, the most reverent Bishop of Seleucia, in Isauria, who ex- 
ercised sway and precedency in that synod (a synod of Ephesus), 
should be subjected to the self-same penalty, by suffering at the 
hands of the holy synod deprivation of their episcopal dignity, 
according to the canons ; whatever is consequent hereupon, being 
submitted to the cognizance of the emperor's sacred sujoremacy.'' 
Du Pin states the situation exactly : J " This council was held in 
the great church of St. Euphemia, the emperor's- commissioned 
officers and the counsellors of state being present, who were to 
direct all their motions. On their right, the Bishop of Alexandria 
and others ; and on their left the pope's delegates." To them the 
speakers addressed themselves, and by them all questions were 
decided except a few more serious cases, which they submitted to 
the Emperor himself. The Council of Chalcedon was more an 
advisory convention, called by their sovereign, to give him their 
opinions, which he might accept or decline, than an independent 
deliberative assembly. No body could strike heavier blows at the 



* Evagrius, book ii. chap. 4. 



t Id., ibid. 



t Vol. i. 



46 COUN^CIL OF CHALCEDON. 

divine supremacy of the Roman See than the renowned Synod of 
St. Euphemia. The 9th canon says : "If one clergyman have a 
matter against another, let him not leave his own bishop and go to 
the secular courts ; but first let him lay open the cause before his 
own bishop ; or else, with the consent of the same bishop, before 
those who shall be chosen by both parties. But if any one shall 
do contrary to this, let him be subjected to canonical censure. If 
any clergyman have a matter against his own bishop, or against 
another, let it be judged by the synod of the province. But if a 
bishop or clergyman have a dispute with the metropolitan of the 
province, let him have access either to the exarch of the diocese, 
or to the throne of the imperial Constantinople, and let it be there 
judged.'^ ^ Here there is no appeal to Rome. In the courts to 
which an injured ecclesiastic may carry his ease, Rome has no place 
whatever. The throne of imperial Constantinople is either the 
throne of the Emperor or the throne of the Patriarch of new 
Rome, and, in either case, there is an utter prohibition of appeals 
by ecclesiastics beyond the city of Constantinople ; and that, too, 
by the largest and most respectable council of all antiquity. It is 
commonly supposed that the throne of the Bishop of Constantinople 
is referred to, and that it makes him the final judge of all disputes 
among clergymen. 

The 28th canon of Chalcedon occupies the most important place 
in its entire transactions. By it the honor paid the Bishop of 
Rome in ecclesiastical matters is expressly declared to be given, 
not because Peter was first Bishop of Rome, or the pontiff the 

* KavCjv d. 

Et T'tj x'Kfjpixb^ Ttpoj xXi^pi^xbv Tipdy/xa t^ot, /j^rj xafaTiiurCavitco tov oixslov 
BTiiaxo'Sov, xai srti xoQjxixa hlxam;r^pla xatatpsxiTfio' d?i.Xa rtpotspov trjv VTtoOeatv 
yvfiva^eti'i Ttapa ta iSicfi srtfcaxortaj, tj yovv yvu)/x7j avtov tov irCi'jxoTCov, Ttap' ot? 
ai; ra d/t^or'spa /xepv^ jSov^s-fat, rd tr^ bi^xiqi avyxpotsiGdi^. Et Si t'«j jtapd 
tavta TtOLY-a^i, xavovvxob? vrtoxeiodco irttT't/itotf. Et 8s xai x'Kiqpixoi k^oi TCpdy/.ia 
Ttpo? tov 18lov ircia^orcov, ^ Ttpoj stspov, rtapd -Tt^ avfobco trjs BTtap^ia^ 8Lxa^£60u>. 
Et 8e Ttpb^ tov tr? avtij? irtapxiO-i ixtjtpoTioKltrjv irti-ffxoTtoi rj x^fjpixb? d/x^irs- 
(^Yitoirj, xata'KaiA.jiavetoi r tov Uap^ov trj? 6totx>;crfw5, ^ rbv tyjs iSaaiXfvovoTji 
Ki^v6tavtivo7t6%su)? dpovov^ xai iTt' avtcfi 8ixa^£adu). — Labbe and Cossart. 
Cone. iv. 759. Paris ed., 1671-3. 



COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON". 47 

vicar of Christ, or Peter the rock on which the Church was built ; 
Christians had not yet fallen into that sleep in which they had 
these dreams; but because ROME WAS THE IMPERIAL 
CITY. The canon reads : * 

" We, everywhere following the decrees of the holy fathers, and 
acknowledging the canon which has been just read of the 150 
bishops, most dear to God, do also ourselves decree and vote the 
same things concerning the "precedency of the most holy Church of 
Constantinople, — New Rome ; for the fathers, with reason, gave 
precedency to the throne of old Rome, because it was the imperial 
city, and the 150 bishops beloved of God, moved by the same con- 
sideration, awarded EQUAL PRECEDENCY TO THE MOST 
HOLY THRONE OF NEW ROME, reasonably judging that 
a city which is honored with the government and senate should enjoy 
equal rank tciththe ancient queen Rome; and, like her, be magnified 
in ecclesiastical matters, having the second place after her ; but so 
that the metropolitans alone of the Pontic, Asiatic and Thracian 
dioceses, and also the bishops among the barbarians in the said 
dioceses, should be ordained by the aforesaid most holy throne of 



Ohta xcuvopa tuiv pv . Oso^cJisatd'tiov STtiaxoTiuv yvvipc^ovtes, ta avta xai rnxsli 
bpi^ofjLBV X9.1 '^r^^i^oiJ.sOa rtfpi tujv Ttpsa^tiiov tr;s aynctdtr;^ ixxT^rjaias Kiovatai- 
twovTioT^scoi, vi'aj 'Pw^?;'?' xai yap tco Opovcf, r-/j$ TtpsafSvtspac 'Pu^jyj 6ta to 
j3a6(.%Bvsiv t/jv 7t6%vv fxsLvrjv, ol Ttaripf j eixotco^ arioSsSJ^xaac td TtpiafSsca. xai 
•fcp avtio axoTici xLvovfjLfvoc ol pv . deo^tXictatoo STtiOxoTiot,, td i'aa rCptafifia 
ditivBLjxav ta trii viae, PJjuTji dyiMtdta dpova, ivT^oyco^ xpuvavteSi T^'fp ^aoLT^eia 
xai avyxJir^tcp ti/xr^dft^sav tCoXlv xai tCov tcfcov drcoTiavovflav rfpsajSatcov tTi rtpsa- 
(5vtipa jSaatXtSt 'Pto^i^, xai iv tol<; exxXTjacaati^xoli, wj exsovtjv, (xeyaT^vsadat, 
Ttpdyfxam, 8evtspav ^tts-r' ixsivrjv VTtdpxovaav. xai CJats tovs ttj? novtixvs, xai 
trji Aaiavr^g, xai tr,^ ®paxt,xrjs SiOLxriasaiS f.irjtpo7io%i,ta^ fxovov^, tVt 8s xai tov^ 
iv rot? j5ap3api,xovi irtvaxoTiov; tujv 7tposiprjix£vu>v biocxyiasiov ^(Sipotovstodai dno 
tov TtpOEipyjuivov dyiuitdtov Qpovov tr^? xatd Kiovatavt(.vov7toXiv dyitotdtv^ 
ixx%.riaiag. brj'Ka^ri txdatov /xrjtporto'kitov t^v rtposiprjfievuv Siotz^cffWf, fi^td 
t^v tr^S f 7tap;^ca-j iraaxoTiutv, ^Eiporovovvto^ tov? trjs f?tap;;^taj srtLaxortovs xaQ^^ 
Toij diioLS xavoni hnqyopi-vtai' x^ipotovnaOat 6f, xadCj^ elpv^tat. tov? firjtportO' 
xJraj tujv Ttpoaprjixivi^v 6totx>jorfwv Ttapd tov Ki^vatavtivorto'kEu^ apxtsTti^axortov, 
•\'r;^ir!udtu>v ovjJL^Jjvuiv, xatd to t^oj, yevotxeviov, xai in' avtov dia^spofisviov,—— 
Labbe and Cossart. Cone. iv. 770. Paris ed., 1671-2. 



48 COUI^CILS OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 

the Holy Cliurch of Constantinople, to wit : that each metropolitan 
of the said dioceses, with the bishops of the province, should ordain 
the bishops of the province, as it is stated in the divine canons ; 
but that the metropolitans of the said dioceses, as has been said, be 
ordained by the Archbishop of Constantinople, where there has 
been an agreement in the election, according to custom, and a 
report been made to him/^ 

The grand foundation of the spiritual supremacy of the pontiffs 
for many centuries has been its supposed divine origin. Such a 
doctrine was entirely unknown in the councils of the first seven 
centuries, when the Church was measurably pure. A certain 
amount of rank was given to the Bishop of Rome, but wholly on 
the ground that his city was THE IMPERIAL CITY. And 
by the decree just quoted, Constantinople is raised to equal 
authority with the ancient queen Rome in ecclesiastical matters. 

Rome, at the Council of Chalcedon, made strenuous efforts to 
acquire power over the churches ; through the far-seeing Leo, she 
had letters written to move the council in her favor. A portion 
from one of these, written by Placidia, the mother of Theodosius, 
says :* ^^ Seeing it becometh us in all things to preserve the dignity 
of this chief city, which is the mistress of all others J' 

For this reason, Placidia and Eudoxia, the empresses, endeavored 
to maintain the dignity of the Roman See. This is the starting 
point of all the power Rome ever acquired over the nations. The 
Synod of Chalcedon, " the greatest f of all ancient synods," gave 
no other, knew none besides. Du Pin says : J '* The 28th canon 
grants to the Church of Constantinople, which is called New 
Rome, the same pnvileges with old Rome, because this city is the 
second city in the world J ^ 

The Fifth General Council was held at Constantinople. 

It met A. D. 553. It was called by Justinian the younger, and 
it was composed of 165 bishops. "It condemned § and anathe- 

* *0;toT'£ Ttf.irCsi £fji.ds tavtvi tyj fi^yla-fy^ rCo'Kfi, rlti? daoftotva jtaaHv VTidpxBc 
tujv yswv, iv ridat, to az^di; ?fapa^D?ia|at. — Syn. Chal. (p. 27). 
t " Popes' Supremacy," by Dr. Barrow, p. 132. New York ed., 1845. 
X Vol. i. 678. Dublin ed., 1723. § Evagrius, book iv. chap. 38. 



COUNCILS OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 49 

rnatized Theodore of Mopsuestia, and his impious writings, also 
whatever Theodoret had impiously written against the right faith, 
against the twelve chapters of the sainted Cyril, against the first 
holy synod at Ephesus, and all that he has written in defence of 
Tlieodore and Nestorius ; it also anathematized the epistle said to 
have been written by Ibas to Maris, the Persian/' Yigilius,"^ 
Bishop of Rome, was in Constantinople during the sessions of the 
council, but refused to attend its meetings, or to subscribe to its 
decrees, for which he was sent into exile, until finally, as an illus- 
tration of papal infallibility, he changed his mind and gave his 
approbation to the measures of the synod. Through bribing the 
celebrated general Belisarius, Vigilius secured his own election to 
the papal throne, and the deposition of Silverius, and he rendered 
his title unquestionable by putting Silverius, his predecessor, to 
death. Of this council Du Pin says : f " Eutychius, patriarch of 
Constantinople, held the first place in it." Nothing flattering to 
papal supremacy occurred in the Fifth General Council. 

The Sixth General Council was held at Constantinople. 
It met A. D. 680. It was called by the Emperor Constantino 
Pogonatus. It had 160 bishops in attendance during its later 
meetings. It held eighteen sessions. J " The Emperors occupied 
the first place in its gatherings.'^ The great patriarchs were either 
present or represented by delegates. The council was specially 
convened to condemn a new heresy, a species of the Eutychian, by 
which it was taught that : In the union of the two natures of 
Christ, there was but one will, from which circumstance the advo- 
cates of this theory were called Monothelites. This general council 
condemned Honorius, Pope of Rome, and anathematized him as a 
heretic. The Avords of the council are : § "In addition to these, we 

* Perceval, " On the Roman Schism, ".p. 15. London ed., 1836. 
t Vol. i. p. 705. Dublin,, 1723. X Id., ii. 10-14. 

§ . . . np6$ tovtoi^ ds avffxfSTirjOr^vat ix tyjs a^taj toy &£0v txxT^rjOia^ xai 
avvavadeixatra9rvcu avvfv8ofifv xai Ovutpiov tbv yd'ojxsvov TtUTtav trjs rtpfcrjSi;- 
ripaj Pwjujjc, 6t.a re svpi^xivat, 57/uaj 6ta rtov ysvofisvtov nap avxov ypa/jL/jLoitiov 
Ttpos "Zipyiov xata Ttdvta tvj ixflvov yvco^i^ i^axoT^-ovBrioavta, xai ta avtov 
dtjE j3>J xvpi^idavta boyaa-ta. — Labbe and Cossart. Cone. vi. 943. Paris ed., 
1671-3. 

4 



«^0 COUNCILS OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 

acknowledge also Honorius, who was formerly pope of old Eome, 
to be amongst those cast out of the holy Church of God and 
anathematized, because we find from his letter to Sergius that he 
altogether followed his opinions, and confirmed his impious 
dogmas.'' Strong language for an infallible council to use about a 
pope of Rome. And in the 17th action of the council, "they all 
exclaimed,* ^'Anathema to the heretio Honorius I " 

The popes of Rome themselves have denounced this unhappy 
successor of Peter. Leo II. says if '^ He did not only favor 
the new heresy by his silence and negligence, but did suffer the 
apostolic traditions to be sullied and defiled by a contrary doctrine," 
for which conduct Leo condemned him. In the Liber Diurnus,J 
we find that the successors of Honorius were regularly in the 
habit of cursing him. So that, though incapable of error in 
matters of faith, he was anathematized by the popes following him 
as an unmitigated heretic. Surely this council showered few 
distinctions on Rome. 

A very important Council was held in Constantinople in A. D. 692. 

This convention ought to be the Seventh General Council, it had 
more claim to the character of a general synod than several to 
which this title and character have been given. It v/as called by 
Justinian II., and was attended by about 200 bishops ; among its 
members were representatives of the Bishop of Rome ; and the 
other great patriarchs Avere present in person. This council met 
in a tower of the Emperor's palace called Trullo, from which it 
sometimes takes its name. It was called Quini-Sextum, because 

* . . . i^sj56rjaav 7tdv'tF<^ 'Ovcoptoj alps'tixc^ avad^ixa, x. -t. %. — 

Labbe and Cossart. Cone. vi. 1010. Paris ed., 1671-3. 

t Dii Pin, ii. 16. 

X Auctores vero novi liseretici dogmatis Sergium, Pyrrlmm, Panlum, e 
Petrum, Constantinopolitanos, una cum Honorio^ qui pravis eorum asser 
tionibus fomentum impendit ; pariterqne et Tlieodornm, .... cum omnibus 
hgereticis scriptis atque sequacibus nexu perpeiua anaihematis devinxeruni. 
Propterea qnosqiios vel quseqnae sancta sex universalia Concilia abjecerunt, 
simili etiam nos condemnatione percellimus anathematis. — Liber Diurnus. 
Reprinted from Garner's edition, Paris, 1680, by Routli, Script Eccl. Opusc. 
ii. 501-509. 



CHRISTENDOM AT BEGINNING OF SEVENTH CENTURY. 51 

it was regarded as a supplement to the fifth and sixth councils. 
It made 102 canons. The 36th renews the canons of Constanti- 
nople and Chalcedon, granting the church of Constantinople the 
same * privileges as the church of old Rome, the same authority in 
ecclesiastical affairs, and the second place in honor. The third, it 
gave to Alexandria, the fourth to Antioch, the fifth to Jerusalem. 
The Greek Church recognized this body as a general council, but 
because it interfered with some of their customs and claims, the 
Latins rejected its authority. Its decrees f were signed by all 
present, including the Emperor, whose name appears first. 

Vfe think any candid mind will conclude that the great coun- 
cils of the first seven centuries, including the synod of Sardica, 
which, though not a general synod, was a highly important body, 
give 710 claim whatever to the Bishops of Rome to supremacy over 
til 3 churches of Christendom. A place of honor was readily 
c J needed to the popes as the prelates of the imperial city, but 
a position of power, of jurisdiction was sternly denied them. 
Neither friend nor foe on earth can lay his finger on a genuine 
canon, decree, or resolution of any general council during the first 
seven hundred, years after the Saviour^s death, giving any jjre- 
eminence 'n legislative, judicial, or other depai^tments in which 
pow?r is r ccustomed to be exercised over Christendom to the Pope of 
Home. There is not a scholar in the Christian world to-day loho pre- 
tends to show such a decree, canon, or resolution. These great 
councils then, that are led by the Holy Spirit, for SEVEN HUN- 
DRED YEARS KNEW NOTHING OF THE SPIRITUAL 
SUPREMACY OF THE BISHOPS OF ROME. And as the 
chain of spiritual sovereignty wants the seven hundred links 
next to Christ, the great mooring pillar, it will not be able to pro- 
tect and hold the papal ark, which trusts it w^hen the wind is 
angry, and the sea rages. 

CHRISTENDOM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTH CENTURY, 

The entire east, Avith all its great patriarchs, bishops and 
churches, with all its teeming population of Christians, orthodox 
and heterodox, was separate from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of 

* Du Pin, ii. 24. 

t Perceval, "On the Roman Schism," p. 17. London ed., 1836. 



52 CHRISTENDOM AT BEGINNING OF SEVENTH CENTURY. 

Rome. The pope never had any authority over a single one of 
these churches up till the commencement of the seventh century. 
And never after that time, unless in our days, when he has 
acquired limited control over an insignificant list of schismatics 
that would not number one per cent, of the pope-rejecting Chris- 
tians of the east. 

The Christians in France regarded him as the first bishop of 
the Church, because the prelate of the most renowned city of the 
w^orld, but as rightly possessing no power over them. The Chris- 
tians of Germany, following the Irish and British missionaries who 
brought them salvation, rejected the supremacy of the pontiff root 
and branch, and observed neither Romish customs, nor papal 
edicts. This was substantially the position of the Spanish church. 
The churches of Ireland, of the ancient Britons, and of Scotland, 
manfiilly refused every claim of the pope, and regarded his mis- 
sionaries and his religion as tainted with heresy. 

Nine-tenths of the Germans were pagans ; all the Anglo-Saxons, 
except the few thousands Augustine had converted ; all the Poles 
and Scandinavians — in short, the ancestors of most of the great 
nations of to-day, were steeped in heathenism, and the supremacy 
of the pope was confined to his own old patriarchate in Italy, and 
the small but hopeful mission of Augustine located in Ethelbert's 
kingdom of Kent. ^ 

Eminent witnesses give indisputable evidence that for ages the 
Church had no crowned bishop whose spiritual sceptre ruled all 
ecclesiastics and Christians. 

The inspired records unmistakably declare the absolute equality 
of bishops and presbyters. The leading Christians of the primi- 
tive Church taught the same doctrine ; — a view of these officers 
which forbids the existence of any royal bishop exercising domin- 
ion over the faith and practice of the whole Church. 

And when, in times a little later, bishops became the official 
superiors of presbyters, the equality of all bishops was held and 
defended by the great thinkers of the Christian fold whom all 
subsequent ages have revered. Showing a decided conviction 
tliat a kingly bishop, with royal attributes over Zion, had no place 
in the calculations of the mighty men who stood in the front 
rank of Christ's army during the first seven centuries after his 
ascension. 



EQUALITY OF BISHOPS AND PHESBYTERS. 53 

Let us examine the facts : 

BISHOPS AND PRESBYTERS THE SAME OFFICERS IN THE 
EARLY CHURCHES. 

The New Testament speaks with the greatest clearness on this 
question. In the Acts of the Apostles xx. 17, Paul is said to 
have called the elders of the church at Ephesus, that is, the pres- 
byters ; and in his address to them, in the 28th verse, he says : "Take 
heed therefore- unto yourselves, and to all the flock over the which 
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers." The word " overseers '^ is 
in the original bishops (sTtlaxoTtov?)^ so that, according to the spirit 
of inspiration, presbyters and bishops are the same officers. And 
the idea, that in PauFs time, in the city of Ephesus, there could 
be two or more bishops after the power and privileges of modern 
episcopacy, is one of those preposterous delusions which the intel- 
ligent could not readily receive. At Ephesus the bishops were 
simply ordinary pastors of the church. In the Epistle to Titus, 
i. 5, Paul tells Titus that he had left him in Crete to ordain elders 
in every city (Ttpfo.Svtapovj) ; and speaking of these functionaries 
in the 7th verse, he says : " For a bishop must be blameless, as the 
steward of God '^ (sTtUxoTtov^^ showing that in PauFs opinion the 
terms bishop and elder or presbyter described the same officers. 
Peter, in his 1st Epistle, v. 1, 2, addresses the presbyters, saying: 
" The elders who are among you I exhort, who am also a co-pres- 
byter, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ ; feed the flock of 
God which is among you, taking the oversight, not by constraint 
but willingly." Now the words "taking the oversight" are 
lit-erally episeopising (sTttaxoTtoivt^?^^ acting as bishops, so that, in 
the judgment of Peter, elders are bishops. There is no pretext 
in the divine Word for another conclusion. 

TertuUian. 

Tertullian whose authority will ever have great weight, writing 
about the end of the second century, says:* " The highest jyriest, 

* Dandi (baptismnm) liabet jus summns sacerdos, qui est episcopus; de- 
liinc presbyteri, et diaconi ; non tainen sine episcopi auctoritate, propter ec- 
clesise honorem ; quo salvo, pax salva est. Alioquin etiam laicis jus est. — De 
Baptismo, c. 17. 



54 EQUALITY OF BISHOPS AND PRESBYTERS. 

who is the bishop, has the right of administering baptism. Then 
the presbyters and deacons, yet not without the authority of the 
bishop, because of the honor of the church, which being preserved, 
peace is preserved. Otherwise, the right even belongs to laymen." 
Now, according to this witness, the bishop is only the highest priest 
The honor of the church is the only reason why he is invested 
with the authority of baptizing. And the honor of the church is 
secured in this arrangement by preserving its peace. The dignity 
of a bishop in Tertullian's day was conferred, not by Christ, but by 
the Church, to preserve its harmony ; and he is only the first pres- 
byter, in piety and talents, or in the honor conferred by venerable 
years. 

Irenoeus. 

Irenseus, a bishop of great worth, who flourished about the same 
time as Tertullian, says : * " But when we return again to that 
tradition, which is from the apostles, and which is guarded in the 
churches through the succession of presbyters, we provoke those 
who are opposed to tradition; they say, that they, existing not 
only from the presbyters, but also from the apostles, are more 
plenteously endued mth Ansdom." Here the celebrated Bishop 
of Lyons represents a succession of presbyters as guarding the 
apostolical doctrine, as the chief human protectors of the revealed 
treasures of heaven. And again he says : f " Therefore, it is in- 
cumbent on those who are in the church to obey the presbyters, 
who have their succession from the apostles, as we have shown, 
who, together with the succession of the episcopacy, have received 
the unerring gift of truth, according to the will of the Father.'^ 
Here the presbyters have their succession from the apostles, and 
these same presbyters, like those of Ephesus, have the succession of 
the episcopacy ; in the time of Iren£eus the terms bishop and pres- 

* Cum autem ad earn iterum traditionem, quae est ab apostolis, qnse per 
successiones presbyteroriira in ecclesiis ciisloditiir, provocamus eos qni adver- 
saiitur traditioni ; dicent, se non solum presbyteris sed etiam apostolis exis- 
tentes sapientiores, etc. — Adver. Hceres. i. 3, c. 2. 

f Quapropter lis qui in ecclesia sunt presbyteris obaudire oportet ; his qui 
successionem liabent ab apostolis, sicut ostendiraus, qui cum cpiscopatus suc- 
cessione, charisma veritatis certum secundum placetum patris acceperunt. 
— Lib. iv. cap. 43. 



EQUALITY OF BISHOPS AND PEESBYTERS. 55 

byter were given interchangeably to the same clergyman. Irenseus, 
with force and Christian kindness, entreats Victor, Bishop of 
Rome, as Eiisebius * records, not to excommunicate whole 
churches for a difference of' opinion about the observance of 
Easter ; in this address he says : ^^And those presbyters who gov- 
erned the church before Soter, and over which you now preside, I 
mean Anicetus and Pius, Hyginus with Telesphorus and Xystus." 
These persons, whom he calls presbyters, are popes, the predeces- 
sors of Victor in the See of Rome. 

Jerome. 

Jerome, the scholarly and popular saint and monk of the fourth 
century, says : t ^^ Therefore as presbyters know that they, f7'om 
the custom of the church, are subject to him who has been j)laced 
over them, so bishops know that they, more from that usage, than 
from the fact of the Lord's setting it in order, are superior to pres- 
byters, and ought to govern the church for the common welfare.'' 
Here the learned maker of the Vulgate declares against any divine 
distinction between bishops and presbyters. The custom of the 
Church is the sole authority for the superiority of bishops over 
presbyters. 

Jerome in another place says : j ^^ I hear say there is one become 
so peevish that he setteth deacons before priests, that is to say, be- 
fore bishops ; whereas the apostle plainly teaches that priests and 
bishops are all one." Certainly this statement speaks with deci- 
sion. And Jerome repeats it in other forms with equal clearness. 
He says : § " For at A lexandria, from Mark, the evangelist, to 

* Eccl. Hist., book v. chap 24. 

f Sicnt ergo presbyteri sciunt se ex ecclesiae consaetndine, ei qui sibi proe- 
positus fuerit, esse subjectos ; ita episcopoi noverint se magis consuetudine, 
quam dispositionis dominica veritate presbyteris esse majores, et in commune 
debere ecclesiara regere. — Comment, in Tit.^ torn. vi. p. 199. Colonise, 1616. 

X Avidio quendam in tantam erupisse vecordiam, ut diaconos presbyteris, 
id est episcopis, anteferret ; cum apostolus perspicue doceat, eosdem esse 
presbyteros quos episcopos. — ^p. ad Edarj. 8o, vol. i. 259. Colonise, 1616. 

I Nam Alexandria a Marco evaugelista usque ad Heraclam et Dionysium 
episcopos, presbyteri semper unum ex se electum, in excelsiori gradu collo- 
catum, episcopum nominabant ; quomodo si exercitus imperatorem faciat, 
aut diaconi eligant de se quem industrium noverint, et arcbidiaconum vo- 
cent.— ^^ ad Evag 85, vol. i. 259, Coloniae, 1616. 



I 



56 EQUALITY OF BISHOPS AND PRESBYTERS. 

Heracles and Dionysius, bishops, the presbyters always elected one 
from among themselyeSj and haymg placed him in a higher rank, 
named him bishop, after the manner that an army chooses its gen- 
eral ; the deacons select one from among themselyes whom they 
know to be industrious, and him they call archdeacon." Accord- 
ing to this statement a bishop at Alexandria at this period be- 
longed to no order distinct from the presbyters, he was simply a 
presb}'i:er elected to the presidency of the board of presbyters. 

Again Jerome says : * " Presbyter and bishop are the same ; the 
one name describes the age of the man, the other his dignity. 
Hence instruction is given to Titus and Timothy about the 
ordination of a bishop and of a deacon; but there is absolute 
silence about presbyters, beeaiose the presbyter is contained in the 
bishop J^ 

And again Jerome says : f " Hearken to another testimony in 
which it is very clearly established that a bishop is the same as a 
presbyter — (Paul says to Titus) — I have left thee in Crete that 
you may correct the things that are deficient, appointing presbyters 
through the cities, as I commanded you. If there is any one 
without crime, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, 
free from the charge of luxury, or not hypocrites; for a bishop 
ouo'ht to be without crime, as a steward of God.'^ Jerome's own 



* Presbyter et episcopus alind petatis, aliud dignitatis est, nomen. Unde 
et ad Titum et ad Timotlieum de ordinatione episcopi et diaconi dicitur : de 
presb^'teris omnino reticetur ; quia in episcopo et presbj'ter contiuetur. — Ep. 
ad Evag. 85, vol. i. 259. Colonise, 1616. 

f x\udi et aliud testimonium, in quo manilestissime comprobatur, eundem 
esse episcopum atque presbytermii : propter hoc reliqui te Cretae, ut, quae 
deerant, corrigeres, constituens presbyteros per civitates, sicut et ego tibi 
mandavi. Si sine crimine quis est, uuius uxoris vir, filios babens fideles, non 
accusatione luxurise, aut non subditos. Oportet enim episcopum sine cri- 
mine esse, quasi Dei dispensatorem. Et ad Timotheum. Noli negligere 
gratiam, quae in te est, quae tibi data est prophetise per impositionem manuum 
presbyterii, Sed et Petrus in prima epistola, presbj'teros, inquit, in vobis 
precor compresbyter et testis passionum Cliristi et futurse glorise, quae reve- 
landa est, particeps, regere gregem Christi et inspicere non ex necessitate, 
sed voluntarie juxta Deum, quod quidem Graece significantius dicitur inioxo- 
rtot'rrfc, id est superintendentes : unde et nomcn episcopi tractum est.— ^jp. 
ad Evag. 85, vol. i. 259. Coloniae, 1C16. 



EQUALITY OF BISHOPS AND PRESBYTERS. 57 

opinion, and the apostle's testimony, are decisive evidence of the 
oneness of the office of a bishop and presbyter. 

Again, says Jerome, Paul commands Timothy; "To be unwil- 
ling to neglect the grace which is in you, which was given you by 
prophecy through the imposition of the hands of the presbytery.''^ 
But also Peter, in his first Epistle, says : " Presbyters, I, your 
fellow-presbyter, exhort you, and a witness of the sufferings of 
Christ, and a sharer in the coming glory which is to be revealed : 
rule the flock of Christ and oversee it, not by compulsion but 
freely, as being near to Grod." But, indeed, it is more strikingly 
expressed in the original Greek, iTiiaxonowm, that is, disGharging 
the duties of bishops; from which word the name bishop is de- 
rived. 

And again, commenting on Titus, Jerome says : * " For a 
bishop must be without crime, as it were a steward of God ; a 
presbyter is the same as a bishop, and until by the instigation of 
the devil there arose divisions in religion, and it was said among 
the people : I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, 
churches were governed by a common council of the presbyters. 
Afterwards truly, every one reckoned those to be his whom 
he baptized, not Christ's. Then it was decreed over the world, 
that one of the presbyters should be placed over the rest, to whom 
the whole care of the Church should belong, and that the seeds of 
schisms might be taken away." 

Ambrose, 
Speaking of Paul, Ambrose says ; f " Moreover, after the 

* Oportet eniui episcopum sine crimine esse, tanquam Dei dispensatorem. 
Idem est ergo presbyter, qui et episcopus et antequam diaboli instinctu, 
studia in religione fierent, et diceretur in populis : Ego sum Pauli, ego Apollo ; 
ego autem Cepliae : communi presbyterorum conciiio, ecclesise gubernaban- 
tur, Postquam vero unusquisque eos, quos baptizaverat, suos putabat esse, 
non Christi : in toto orbe decretum ^st, ut unus de presbyteris superponere- 
tur cgeteris ad quern omnis ecclesise cura pertineret, et scbismatum semina 
tollerentur. — Hieron, torn. vi. 198. Colonise, 1616. 

f Post episcopum tamen diaconi ordinationem subjicit. Quare ? Nisi quia 
episcopi et presbyteri una ordinatio est. Uterque enim sacerdos est ; sed 
episcopus primus est, ut omnis episcopus presbyter fit. Non omnis presby- 
ter episcopus. Hie enim episcopus est qui inter presbyteros primus est. — 
Ambrose in i. Tim. iii., vol. i. p. 272. Colonise. 1616. 



58 EQUALITY OF BISHOPS AND PEESBYTERS. 

bishop he places the ordination of the deacon. Wherefore ? but 
that there is one ordination of the bishop and the presbyter : 
for each is a priest, but the bishop is the first ; since every bishop 
is a presbyter, though every presbyter is not a bishop. For he is 
the bishop who is first among the presbyters.'^ 

Augustine. 
The celebrated Bishop of Hippo says : * " What is a bishop 
but the fii^st priest, that is to say, the highest priest ? According to 
the terms of honor which now the usage of the Church of Rome 
hath brought about, the episcopacy is superior to the presbytery.^^ 
But from this statement the superior position of bishops has no 
divine authority, and rests simply on the usage of the Church of 
Rome. And in any case, according to Augustine, a bishop is 
only a presbyter, though he is the highest. 

Chrysostom. 

Chrysostom says :t " Between a bishop and a priest there is, in a 
manner, no difierence." " The presbyters % anciently were called 
bishops, and servants of Christ, and the bishops presbyters.'' 

In Scotland for a long period, the bishops of the country were 
subject to the Abbot of lona, wdio received every mark of pious 
deference from the heads of the churches planted by the great 
Columba. And as this fact rests upon the very best evidence, § 
we have another confirmation of the doctrine that, among the early 
Christians, there was no difference in the orders of bishops and 
priests. " Even bishops || obeyed the abbots of lona, though they 
w^ere but simple priests." 

Isidore. 
The celebrated Isidore, Bishop of Seville, presided at the second 
council, held in his episcopal city, A. d. 619, and, among other 

* Quid est episcopus, nisi primus presbyter, hoc est, summus sacerdos ? — 
August, in Qucest. Nom et.Vei. Testamenti, qusest. 101. 

t Inter episcopum et presbyterum interest firine uiliil. — Ghrysost. in 1 Tim. 
Mom. ii. 

t ^Ot Ttpscr.SvT'fpot. to rca'ktov sxaXn^vto STti^ixoTtot xcu 6idxovoL tov XptcrroC- 
vai o'i STtioxoTtoi. 7ipsai5vt fpoi. — Clirysost. Horn. i. in Phil. i. 

§ Bede's Anglo-Saxon Chron., at a. d. 565. I Neander, iii. 10. 



EQUALITY OF BISHOPS AND PRESBYTERS. 59 

canonSj it made the following : * ^^ For although many services of 
the ministry are common to them with the bishops, they are aware 
that some are prohibited to them by new ecclesiastical rules, as the 
consecration of presbyters, deacons, and virgins. These are not 
lawful to presbyters.^^ Du Pin gives a full account of this canon, 
but is careful to leave out the words, "by Tiew ecclesiastical 
rules.^^-\ 

In the researches of modern scholarship, men have forgotten 
their sectarian prejudices, and confessed their conviction that 
originally the names presbyter and bishop described the same 
ecclesiastic. Bishop Stillingfleet says -.% "I believe, upon the 
strictest inquiry, Medina's judgment will be found true, that 
Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose, Sedulius, Primasius, Chrysostom, 
Theodoret, Theophylact, were all of Arius' judgment as to the 
identity of both name and order of bishops and presbyters in the 
primitive Church.^' 

Archbishop Cranmer says : § " The bishops and priests were at 
one time, and, were not two things, but one office in the beginning of 
Chrisfs religion J' 

Archbishop Usher said : || "I have declared my opinion to be, 
that episcopus and presbyter difPer only in degree, not in order, 
and consequently in places wdiere bishops cannot be had, the ordi- 
nation by presbyters stai^deth valid." 

Opinions of this character might be multiplied in number, 
though in the United Church of England and Ireland, no other 
three names could fully equal those whose views have been quoted. 
The leading men of the first four and a half centuries, and some 
of the most distinguished episcopalians of the great Reformation, 
receive the teachings of inspiration given in Acts xx. 17, 28, and 
declare that the terms bishop and presbyter describe the same 

* Nam quamvis cum episcppis plvirima illis ministeriorum communis sit 
dispensatio, qngedam noveliis et ecclesiasticis regulis sibi proliibita noverint 
.... sicut presbyteroriim et diaconorum et virginum consecratio, etc. Hsec 
enim omnia illicita presb3^teris. — Cone. Hispal. Secundum., decret. 7. Irenicum, 
p. 339. Phila. ed., 1842. 

t Eccl. Hist., vol. ii. p. 3. Dublin ed., 1723. 

+ Irenicum, p. 801. Phila. ed., 1842. § Id., p. 415. 

II "Ancient Christianity Exemplified," by Coleman, p. 158. 



60 EQUALITY OF ALL BISHOPS. 

order of clergymen. These men had a hierarchy, and this fact 
gives peculiar force to their testimony. 

It follows that as bishops and presbyters are one, there is no 
scriptural ground for several bishops, or for one prelate to claim 
lordship over the presbyters, deacons, and churches. There is no 
divine location for a pontiff. 

THE EQUALITY OF BISHOPS. 

The origin of episcopacy, according to Jerome, is to be found in 
the factiousness of church members. "A presbyter," says he, " is 
the same as a bishop, and until, by the instigation of the devil, 
there arose divisions in religion, and it was said among the people, 
^ I am of Paul, and I am of Apollos, and I am of Cephas,' churches 
were governed by a common council of the presbyters.'' * For the 
sake of securing peace and repressing anarchy in the churches, a 
bishop or permanent president of the College of Presbyters was 
appointed. As early as the end of the second century, a modified 
episcopacy was the common form of the government of the 
churches. At first, the presbyters retained many of their old 
rights ; and, in some countries, they held most of their original 
privileges for a very long period. But the episcopal system very 
early became general and popular; just as kingly government in 
the state has, from the most ancient times, been the method of 
exercising sovereign powers to which most nations have sub- 
mitted. 

When episcopal government was first established in the 
churches, and for centuries later, the accepted theory about it was : 
That all bishops were equal, not in culture, not in the wealth of 
their respective sees, not in the honor which might be inseparably 
attached to some bishop at the seat of government, or in a large 
and opulent city, but in a general council, where the vote of every 
bishop had the same influence ; and in the common duties of the 
episcopal office. The fiercest struggles were made to maintain 
this equality, and its assertion in manly words forms the most 
interesting records of the Church's history. 

* The original Latin on p. 57. 



EQUALITY OF ALL BISHOPS. 61 

Ch/prian. 

Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, the most eloquent and cultivated 
ecclesiastic of the Christian Church from the days of Paul, says : * 
" For none of us makes himself a bishop of hishops, or by a tyran- 
nical terror compels his colleagues to a necessity of obedience ; since 
every bishop, according to the licence of his own liberty and 
power, hath his own freedom, and can no more be judged by 
another, than he himself can judge another J^ Cyprian lived before 
the age of general councils, when each bishop under God Avas 
master of the interests committed to his charge. 

Cyprian on another occasion gave Stephen, Bishop of Rome, a 
severe rebuke for meddling in the affairs of two Spanish bishops, 
Basilides and Martialis, who had been deposed from their bishoprics 
for their crimes. In his 68th letter addressed to the clergy and 
people of Spain, he says : f " Basilides going to Rome, imposed 
upon our colleague, Stephen, who lived a great way off, and ivas 
ignorant of the truth of the matter ; seeking unjustly to be re- 
stored to his see, from which he had been justly deposed." Cer- 
tainly Cyprian has few compliments here for the ignorant pope, 
and evidently writes as one who feels himself, and is regarded by 
others, as Stephen^s jequal. 

He writes to Antonius on the controversy between Cornelius 
and Novatian, and makes this declaration to him : { " The bond 
of concord abiding, and the sacrament of the Catholic Church 
persisting undivided, every bishop disposes and directs his own acts, 
having to render an account of his purpose to the LordJ^ Cy- 

* Neqne enim quisquam nostrum episcopum se esse episcopornm consti- 
tuit, aiit tyrannico terrore ad obsequendi necessitatem collegas suos adigit : 
quando liabeat omnis episcopus pro licentia libertatis et protestatis suae 
arbitrium propriura ; tamque judicari ab alio non possit, quam nee ipse potest 
alterum judicare. — Gypr. inPref. Gone. Garthag. 

\ Romam pcrgens Stephanum collegam nostrum longe positum, et gestae 
rei ac tacitse veritatis ignarum fefellit, ut exambiret reponi se injuste in epis- 
copatum, de quo fuerat juste depositus. — Gypr. Epist. 68, p. 96. Coloniae, 
1617. 

X Manente concordiae vinculo, et perseverante catholicae ecclesiae individuo 
Sacramento, actum suum disponit et dirigit unusquisque episcopus, rationem 
propositi sui Domino redditurus. — Gypr. Ep. 52, p. 59. Coloniae, 1617. 



G2 EQUALITY OF ALL BLSHOPS. 

prian never dreamt of any bishop giving him orders, or demand- 
ing an account of his acts. 

Again, in a letter to Pope Stephen himself, he says : * " In 
which matter we neither force any one, nor give law, since every 
prelate hath in the administration of his church the free power of 
his ivill, having to render unto the Lord an account of his acting.''^ 
Pius IX. would be astounded at such sentiments in a letter from 
one of his bishops, but Stephen was not. Xo other obedience was 
given to popes by bishops like Cyprian in Stephen's times. Cy- 
prian writes to Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, after the same inde- 
pendent style. 

As Du Pin translates him, he says : f " What benefit can they 
expect from going to Rome ? If they repent of their faults they 
ought to understand that they must come back hither again to 
receive absolution for them, since it is an order established all the 
world over, and, indeed, but reasonable, that every one's cause 
should be examuied where the crime was committed. Every 
pastor has received a part of Jesus Chrisfs fioch to govern y 
and shall render an account of his actions to God alone. 
Upon this account it is not to be allowed that those persons who 
are under our charge should run to and fro, and sow dissensions 
among bishops by their temerity and artifices ; but on the other 
hand, it is necessary for them to defend themselves in that place 
where they may be confronted with their accusers, and the wit- 

* Qua in re nee nos vim cuiquam facimus, aut legem damns ; cum liabeat 
in ecclesiae administratione voluntatis suae liberum arbitrium unusquisque 
praepositus, rationem actus sui Domino redditurus. — Id., Ep. 73, p. 104. Co- 
lonise, 1617. 

f Quae autem causa veniendi et pseudoepiscoporum contra episcopos factum 
nunciandi ? aut enim placet illis quod fecerunt, et in suo seclere perseverant : 
aut si displicit et recedunt, sciuiit quo revertantur. Xam cum statutum sit 
omnibus nobis et aequum sit pariter ac justum, ut uniuscuj usque causa illic 
audiatur, ubi est crimen admissum, et singulis pastoribus portio gregis sit 
adscripta, quam regat unusquisque et gubernet, rationem sui actus Domino 
redditurus. Oportet utique eos quibus prresumus nou circumsare, nee episco- 
porum concordiam coherentem sua subdola et fallaci temeritate collidere, sed 
agere illic causam suam ubi et accusatores habere et testes sui crimiuis pos- 
sint. Jam causa est coguita eorum : jam de eis dicta sententia est, nee 
censurae congruit sacerdotum mobilis atque inconstantis animi levitate repre- 
hendi.— C^/i^r. Ep. 55, p. 70. Coloniae, 1617. 



■'I 

i 



EQUALITY OF ALL BISHOPS. 63 

nesses of their crimes. Their cause has been examined^ sentence 
has been pronounced against them, and it would be below the 
gravity of bishops to be justly reproached with being wavering 
and inconstant.'' The translation is very free, amounting to a 
paraphrase, and it is given because Du Pin has caught the exact 
drift of Cyprian's indignant denunciation of appeals to Rome 
against an African * decision. He plainly tells Cornelius through- 
out his lengthy letter, that he has nothing to do with Fortunatus 
and Felicissimus, the guilty African bishops, and that his inter- 
ference could not h^lp them. They must abide by the local deci- 
sion, or have it reversed at home ; as each bishop is independent. 
According to Cyprian, no benefit could be obtained by an 
appeal to Rome. Even Du Pin is not always to be trusted. In 
the quotation from Cyprian's letter, he passes over four f lines to 
reach the end of his quotation without a hint that he omits any- 
thing, and the discarded part intimates that the African decision 
only appeared unimportant to a few ruined and abandoned, men. 
So that only a handful of desperate persons approved of appeals 
from their own bishops. 

There are eighty-three letters to and from Cyprian published in 
nis works. These letters employ a style of address to Cyprian some- 
what var}dng. Cyprian gives every bishop the same title, and 
that the simple one, Brother. He published seven epistles ad- 
dressed to Cornelius, Bishop of Pome ; the first one is his 41st 
Epistle, and it is inscribed : " Cyprianus % to Cornelius, a brother, 
health." The other six begin in the same way. ^^ Cornelius to 
Cyprian, a brother, health," is the address adopted by the Poman 
Bishop, as seen in the 46th § Epistle of Cyprian's collection. 
Firmilianus addresses Cyprian in this way in the 75th Epistle. 
" Cyprian and other colleagues assembled in council to the number 
of Q^y address Fidus, a brother," in the usual form; though 
Fidus was a very obscure and ignorant bishop. This letter is the 
59th. The 67th is addressed in the same form to Stephen, Bishop 
of Pome. The 71st is addressed to Quintus, after the same 
fashion ; the 73d to Jubianus, the 74th to Pompey, and the 52d 

* Du Pin, i. 123 ; Dublin ed , 1723. 

t See Ep. 55, Cypr. p. 70. Coloniae, 1617. 

X Cypr. Ep Opera. Coloniae, 1617, p. 47. §Id., p. 51. 



64 EQUALITY OP ALL BISHOPS. 

to Antonianus. All unimportant African Bishops. The 26th * is 
addressed to " Pope Cyprian," by Maximus and Moyses, presby- 
ters, Nicostratus and Ruffinus, deacons, and other confessors who 
are with them. The 30th and 31st are addressed to ''Pope 
Cyprian/^ f bi/ the presbyters and deacons of the Church of Borne. 

In Cyprian's time, as he himself says, each bishop had powers 
in his own . city equal to every other^ and the Roman Bishop, 
while treated with respect, as the pastor of the first city in the 
world, had no title not given to his brethren in the episcopal 
office, and no jurisdiction over the churches outside of his own 
diocese. Cyprian was more the "Head of the Church" than 
any Roman pontiff in his day, as Hosius of Cordova was three- 
quarters of a century later. He was consulted by bishops in 
France and Spain ; and though living in Africa, time and again, 
he was approached for advice by the bishops, presbyters and 
deacons of Rome itself 

Du Pin says of Cyprian that : J " He looked upon the Bishop 
of Rome as superintendent of the first church in the world. But 
then he was of opinion that he ought not to assume any authority 
over the rest of the bishops, that were his brethren, or over their 
churches. That every bishop was to render to God an account 
of his own conduct. That the episcopal authority is indivisible, 
and every bishop has his portion of it." 

Augustine. 

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in Africa, was the ablest man pro- 
duced in the Christian Church for centuries. North Africa has 
laid the world under obligations for its Cyprian and its Augustine. 
The industry of Augustine has left the Church a superb legacy in 
the voluminous works to which his mighty mind gave birth. In 
common with all his countrymen, he denounced appeals from an 
African synOd or bishop to any authority outside of the church of 
his countrymen. He very modestly denounces one of these ap- 
peals in his 162d letter :§ "Probably Melchiades, Bishop of 

* Cypr. Opera., p. 32. Colonise, 1617. f Id., p. 36. 

I Dupin, i. 133 ; Dublin ed., 1723. 

§ An forte non debuit Romanae Ecclesioe Melchiades episcopus cum col- 



EQUALITY OF ALL BISHOPS. 65 

Rome, witli the transmarine bishops, his colleagues, ought not to 
have usurped that judgment which had been decided by seventy 
Africans, when Tigisitanus presided as primate. But why might 
he not assume it? Because the Emperor, w^hen requested, sent 
bishops to be judges, who would sit with him, and would deter- 
mine whatsoever appeared just in the whole case." In the exer- 
cise of a humility, for which Augustine is to be commended, he 
gently brands Melchiades as a usurper, and he tells him that 
seventy Africans had already settled the question. 

The titles given in epistles to Augustine, and by him, show the 
wonderful reverence in which the Bishop of Hippo was held ; and 
prove that, in the Christian world he had no superior. 

Jerome in five letters addresses Augustine with these compli- 
mentary words : * ^^ To the lord, truly holy, and the most 
blessed Pope Augustine." Surely, the learned St. Jerome knew 
the proper designation of a bishop. 

Augustine is equally courteous to the distinguished scholar. 
His letters are addressed to : f " The most illustrious and most 
desired lord, the brother in Christ to be honored, my fellow pres- 
byter, Jerome." 

The 2o4th letter in Augustine's epistles is addressed : J ^^ To the 
lord, truly holy, and sacredly preferred by us above all things, 
and revered with holy joy, the most blessed Pope Augustine, by 
Valentinus, the servant of thy holiness'^ Certainly Augustine 
could desire nothing more in the way of high-sounding words of 
flattery. 

legis transmarinis episcopis illud sibi usurpare judicium, quod ab Afris sep- 
tnaginta, ubi primas Tigisitanus prcesedit, fuerat terpiinatum. Quid quod 
nee ipse usurpavit ? Eogatus quippe Imperator judices misit episcopos qui 
cum eo sederunt, et de tota ilia causa quod justum videretur statuerent — . 
Augustini Opera, Ep. 162, vol. ii. p. 279. Paris ed., 1614. 

* Domino vere sancto et beatissimo Papse Augustino. — Augustini Opera, 
Ep. 11, vol. ii. p. 19. Paris ed., 1614. 

f Domino clarissimo et desideratissimo, et honorando in Christo fratri et 
compresbytero Hieronimo. — Augustini Opera, Ep. 12, vol. ii. p. 23. Paris ed., 
1614. 

X Domino vere sancto ac nobis venerabiliter super omnia prgeferendo, et pia 
exultatione colendo beatissimo Papae Augustino. Yalentinus servus tuse 
sanctitatis. — Augustini Opera, Ep. 254, vol. ii. p. 358. Paris ed., 1614. 
5 



66 EQUALITY OF ALL BISHOPS. 

Augustine addresses Pope Innocent : * "To the lord, most 
happy, the brother deservedly most honored. Pope Innocent." 
Auo-ustine does not pay such compliments to Innocent as he receives 
from Yalentinus. 

Augustine addresses his 94th letter to : f " Hilary, the most 
blessed lord, a brother in the truth of Christ, worthy of veneration, 
and a fellow priest." 

Consentius addresses his letter to : J " The holy lord, and most 
blessed Pope Augustine. " 

The titles of the 270 letters in the works of St. Augustine show 
that no one in the Christian world was more honored than himself. 
From those in his collection addressed to the Eoman popes, it is 
abundantly manifest that they were not the rulers of the churches, 
the masters of the spiritual affairs of Christendom ; and it is just 
as clear that in the discharge of their episcopal duties all bishops 
were equal. 

Antioeh. 

The Synod of Antioeh, complaining of the behavior of Pope 
Julius in the affair of Athanasius, as Sozomen relates, § " Did not, 
therefore, think it equal that they should be thought inferiors^ 
because they had not so large and numerous a ohurchj^ 

The Apostolical Canons 

ordain that : || " The bishops of each nation should know him that 
is first among them, and should esteem him the head, and sliould 

* Domino beatissimo meritoque lionorandissimo fratri Innocentio Papae. — 
Augusiini Opera, Ep. 95, vol. ii. p. 161. Paris ed., 1614. 

f Domino beatissimo et in Chrisli veritate venerando fratri et consaderdoti 
Hilario. — Augustini Opera, Ep. 94, vol. ii. p. 161. Paris ed.,1614. 

X Domino sancto ac beatissimo Papae Angnstino. — Augustini Opera, Ep. 
281, vol. ii. p. 325. Paris ed., 1614. 

S Ov ;taptt -tovto ta d^vrspsia ^spsiv r^iovv, oft fbrj fisyiOst ri rfKriOsc ixx^t]- 
aiai rfkiovixtovatv. — Soz., book iii. chap. 8. 

1] Tovj i7tKj5cortov5 ixdotov iOuov? et^ivao xprj tov &v avfotj rtpCj-fov, xai 
yjyslaOai avtov wj xf^aXi^i', xai fir^biv tc rtpdtteiv Ttspittov avsv trj^ exfLvov 
yvi^fir^i' Ixftva 8e fxova, Ttpattfcv t'l^ttcTT'ov, offa Tftj avTfov Ttapocxia irttjSctXTLft, xat 
rit? vrt' avtriv ^copdi^' dXTta [xrj8s i^xf-ivo; dviv tr^^ ndvti^v yvJifir^^ rtotfifw tt' 
ouVw yap uuovoia latat. — Ap. Can. 34, 



EQUALITY OF ALL BISHOPS. G7 

do nothing considerable without his advice ; as also that each one 
should only meddle with those affairs ivhich concerned his ovm dis- 
trict, and the places under it. But he (the primate) should not do 
anything without the opinion of all, so that there may be concord.'^ 
The apostolical canons are as old as the fourth, and might reach 
up to the close of the second century. And, according to their 
testimony, the Pope of Rome had no preeminence in the govern- 
ment of the churches. The principal city in each country was the 
seat of the first bishop ; but even he must act by the advice of his 
fellow-bishops in everything of moment, that concord may be pre- 
served. 

The Bishop of Rome the equal of other Bishops, 

At a council held in Rome, A. D. 359, a synodical letter was 
adopted, and sent to the Bishops of Illyria, which began : * 
" Damasus (the pope), Valens, and the other hisTiops assembled at 
the holy council held at Rome, to the beloved brethren, the 
Bishops of Illyria.'^ Here Damasus, the pope, is only first on 
the list ; Valens is in a position equally important ; the others are 
evidently the peers of the two whose names are given. The pope 
is only primus inter pares, the first among equals. 

Jerome. 

Jerome says : f " Wherever a bishop may be, lohether at Borne or 
at Eugubium, at Constantinople or at Bhegium, at Alexandria or at 
Thanis, he is of the same tvorth, and of the same priesthood ; the 
force of wealth and lowness of poverty do not render a bishop 
higher or lower ; for all of them are the successors of the apostles.'' 
Again, the renowned monk and scholar condemns the whole papal 
system ; for that scheme is destroyed by the removal of the pontiff, 
and there can be no proper pope without preeminent authority 
over the churches. 

* Theod. Eccl. Hist., book ii. 22. 

f Ubicunqne, episcopns fnerit, sive Romae, sive Eugubii, sive Constanti- 
nopoli, sive Rhegii, sive Alexandrice, sive Tanis, ejusdem est meriti, eju>- 
dem est et sacerdotii. Poteiitia divitiarnm et paupertatis liumilitas, vel 
snblimiorem vel inferiorem episcopnm non iacit : caeterum omnes apostolo- 
rum suecessores sunt. — Epist. 85, ad Evag.^ vol. i. p. 259. Colonize, 1616. 



68 QUALITY OF ALL BISHOPS. 



Hilary. 



Hilary, of Aries, was a vigorous bishop, a sound thinker, a Bible 
reader, and a man of fearless independence. Celedonius, a bishop, 
had been married to a widow, and followed secular employments. 
For these two crimes, Hilary, in a council, deposed him. He 
appealed to Leo T., of Rome, and the pope restored him to his see. 
But neither Hilary nor the bishops of France would yield to the 
dictation of the pontiff. They were unaccustomed to obey such a 
master, and it was needful to obtain an imperial decree from Jus- 
tinian, commanding, among other things, that : "Forever hereafter, 
neither the French bishops, nor the bishops of other provinces, shall 
undertake anything without the authority of the Bishop of Rome ; 
that all that he orders shall be acknowledged for a law." Well may 
Du Pin say : * " This edict is contrary to the canons, as also to the 
decrees of the council of Sardica.'^ But it shows that up to that 
time, the first half of the fifth century, the French and German 
churches owed no allegiance to the See of Rome. 

"^ Gregory I. 

Eulogius, of Alexandria, had flatteringly said to the great 
Gregory, " sicut jusistis/^ — as ye ordered. Gregory replied if 
" That word of command I desire to be removed from my hearing, 
because I know who I am, and who ye are ; by place ye are my 
brethren ; in goodness, fathers. I did not, therefore, command, but 
what seemed profitable I hinted to you." Gregory was not the man 
to stop at giving an order where he had authority to do it. He 
was the first of the popes to begin his letters with the well known 
words, " servant of servants." But none knew better than he 
how to climb the slippery heights of spiritual ambition and pre- 
sumption. 

Writing John the Faster, he reproachfully compares him to 

* Du Pin, i. 469 ; Dublin ed., 1723. 

f Quod verbum jussionis peto a meo auditu removeri ; quia scio quis sum 
qui estis ; loco enim mihi fratres estis, moribus patres, iion ergo jussi, sed quae 
utilia visa sunt, indicare curavi. — Greg. J., Bp. vii., ad Eulog. Alex. 



i 



EQUALITY OF ALL BISHOPS. 69 

Lucifer in his defeated ambition in heaven. " What," says he, * 
" wilt thou say to Christ, the Head of the Universal Church, in the 
trial of the last judgment, who, by the appellation of Universal, 
dost endeavor to subject all his members to thee ? Whom, I pray, 
dost thou mean to imitate in so perverse a Avord, but him who, 
despising the legions of angels constituted in fellowship with him, 
did endeavor to break forth unto the top of singularity, that he 
might both be subject to none, and alone be over all ? Who also 
said, I will ascend into heaven, and will exalt my throne above 
the stars, — ^for what are thy brethren, all the bishops of the uni- 
versal Church, but the stars of heaven, to whom, as yet, by this 
haughty word, thou desirest to prefer thyself, and to trample on 
their name in comparison to thee ? " 

On another occasion, he writes :t " I confidently say that whoso- 
ever calls himself universal bishop, or desires to be so called, does 
in his elation forerun Antichristy because he proudly places himself 
before other s.^^ 

It cannot be doubted that, in the estimation of Gregory and 
the other leading bishops of his day, that no prelate had any 
authority from God to be the master of his fellows-bishops ; that 
in all fundamental matters the bishops of the Christian world were 
on a common platform, notwithstanding the honor conferred by 
the bishopric which contained the imperial residence, or the lustre 
w^hich surrounded bishops of extraordinary talents or unusual piety. 
But the time had now come when these primitive view^s were to be 
buried out of sight, and w^hen the Roman bishops should appear as 
the lords of Christ's spiritual heritage, as the masters of the min- 

* Tu quid Cliristo universalis ecclesise Capiti iu extreini judicii dicturus 
examine, qui cuncta ejus membra tibimet coneris Universalis appellatione 
supponere ? Quis rogo in hoc tam perverso vocabulo nisi ille ad imitandum 
proponitur, qui despectis angelorum legionibus secum socialiter constitutis ad 
culmen conatus est singularitatis erumpere, ut et nulli subesse, et solus 
omnibus prseesse videtur ? Qui etiam dixit, In caelum conscendam, super 
astra coeli exaltabo solium meum — quid etiam fratres tui omnes universalis 
ecclesise nisi astra coeli sunt ? quibus dum cupis temetipsum vocabulo elationis 
prseponere eorumque nomen tui comparatione calcare. — Greg. Ep. iv. 38 

f Ego autem fidenter dico, quia quisquis se Univevsalem Sacerdotem vocat ; 
vel vocari desiderat, in elatione sua Anlicliristum praecurrit quia superbiendo 
se cseteris prseponit. — Oreg. /., Lib. vi. Ep. 30. 



70 STEPS TO PAPAL SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE CHURHCES. 

isters and doctrines of the whole Church of God in nearly all 
Europe. 

THE MEANS BY WHICH THE POPE BECAME SOVEREIGN OF ALL 
CATHOLIC CHURCHES. 

The royal dominion of the popes, in its two grand divisions, 
over sovereigns and over the churches, is the wonder of the ages. 
Mighty empires were born, reached maturity and perished after 
its birth and before its death. It witnessed the last throes of the 
government of the Csesars, and it exercised the rights of chief ma- 
gistracy when the peoples of France, Germany, and England were 
almost barbarians. It wielded the sceptre of supreme dominion 
in Europe over the little affairs of hearts and homes, and. over the 
mighty events that convulsed nations, with a grandeur of power 
and minuteness of universality never equalled in earthly history. 
The thinkers, the statesmen, and often the monarchs, for the 
greater part of a thousand years, felt honored by the patronage of 
the popes. The dominion of Babylon, of Alep^ander, the Csesars, 
Charlemagne, or of the first Bonaparte, never equalled the kingly 
authority of the "Priest enthroned on the Seven Hills.^^ The 
method by which this sacerdotal empire Avas built up and shielded 
against the assaults which overthrew other kingdoms not half so 
corrupt and tyrannical, has excited astonishment for centuries, and 
is a fit subject for wonder in this, the most enlightened period of 
human history. 

The temporal power of the pontiffs over their own states, and 
over kings and governments, is altogether the outgrowth of their 
spiritual supremacy over the churches. The rise of the spiritual 
usurpation of the popes is the creation of that platform on which 
their secular throne was placed. 

All great movements among men, wicked and holy, have had 
some mighty principle or principles, true or false, which gave 
them a firm grasp on the consciences, hearts, or interests of large 
numbers. Material instrumentalities, favorable circumstances, 
lieroism, or the weakness of enemies, may aid liberally in securing 
success. But the thoughtful observer will always look for the 
great principle which gives birth and vigor to every gigantic 
movement. Turning away from the pride of the Bishops of Rome 



THE CHURCH SUPPOSED TO BE BUILT ON PETER. 71 

which led them to covet universal dominion over the churcheSj the 
argument which persuaded the churches to accept the sovereignty 
of the popes, was that 

Christ had built his Church on Peter, and had made him master of 
it, by giving him the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

All the skill, audacity, and struggles of the popes would have 
been fruitless without this Scripture, and the supposed authority 
with which it invests Peter aiid his successoi^s. The Saviour's 
words are : " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my 
Churcii, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it ; and I 
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and what- 
soever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and 
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven," 
Matt. xvi. 18. The papal exposition of this saying is : Peter sup- 
ports the whole Church, and the pope succeeds him in this posi- 
tion ; by the keys which the pontiff receives as Peter's successor, 
he is the ruler of the whole kingdom or Church of God, with 
authority to bind or loose whomsoever or whatsoever he Avill. 

This interpretation seemed plausible, and the claim of the 
Bishop of Kome, wheii stubbornly made, a little difficult to resist, 
especially as his pretensions were urged in an age totally ignorant 
of the divine Word. 

At the Council of Chalcedon, this doctrine was prominently 
announced for the first time, by the representatives of Pope Leo the 
Great. Dioscoros, Bishop of Alexandria, the President of the 
second council of Ephesus, was the most unpopular man in the 
episcopal assembly at Chalcedon. JN^early the entire Church, East 
and West, hated him. Pope Leo, for resisting him, was regarded 
with enthusiasm. He had given Dioscoros some heavy 
blows, and received some keen thrusts in return. Dios- 
coros excommunicated Leo, pope though he was; and on two 
occasions in the Council of Ephesus, he insolently refused 
permission for the reading of an eloquent letter of Leo, de- 
nouncing the heresy of the monk Eutyches. At this council, while 
every one was condemning Dioscoros and commending Leo, his 
delegates declared Dioscoros deprived of his dignity by the 



72 THE CHURCH SUPPOSED TO BE BUILT OX PETER. 

authority of Leo, the most blessed and holy archbishop of the great 
and elder Rome, and in conjunction with : * " The twice blessed 
and all honored Peter, who is the rook and basis of the Catholic 
Churchy and the foundation of the orthodox faithJ^ When these 
words were pronounced, they were not used to urge a claim to 
any precedency by the bishops of Rome ; they were spoken to give 
force to the condemnation of Dioscoros, whom all abhorred, and no 
censure was passed upon them. A little later, when the epistle of 
Leo was read, the bishops were so charmed with its doctrine that 
they exclaimed if " This is the faith of the fathers ; this is the 
faith of the apostles. Peter has uttered these words through Leo. 
Thus has Cyril taught, the teaching of Leo and Cyril is the same. 
Anathema to him who does not thus believe. " From the state- 
ment, " Peter has uttered these words through Leo,'^ it has been 
inferred that the prelates at Chalcedon received Peter as the master 
of the Church ; as its foundation ; and as the owner of its keys ; and 
Leo as the successor of Peter's privileges. But the bishops never 
dreamt that Peter was lord of the Church, or that Leo had any 
authority outside his own province. All they meant by Peter 
speaking through Leo was, that the present Bishop of Rome wrote 
the same truths which Peter, the first bishop, published. 

No early council so emphatically declares that the dignity of the 
Church of old Rome rests only on the fact that it was the imperial 
city. X It awarded equal precedency to the Church of New Rome 
(Constantinople), { " Reasonably judging that a city tvhich is 
honored with the government and senate, should enjoy equal rank 
with the ancient queen, Home, and, like her, be magnified in eccle- 
siastical matters, having the second place after her.'' Here was 
the place to recognize Peter as the rock and keyholder of the 
Church, and the pope as his successor. But at Chalcedon, the 
pontiff was only respected as the bishop of the old capital of the 
world. 

Leo, in a letter to the Illyrian bishops, asserts the same doc- 
trines in the strongest terms ; and on the basis of it makes the 
most presumptuous claim to supremacy over the churches. He 



* Eccl. Hist , Evagrius, book ii. chap. 18. ■)■ Id., book ii. chap. 18 

^ See 28th Canon of Chalcedon, p. 47. 



THE CHUUCH SUPPOSED TO BE BUILT ON PETEE. 73 

says : * " That on him as the successor of the Apostle Peter, on 
ivhom, as the reward of his faith, the Lord had conferred the primacy 
of apostolic rank, and on ivhom he had firmly grounded the universal 
Church, was devolved the care of all the churches, to participate 
in which, he invited his colleagues, the other bishops/' 

This fortunate discovery, in the middle of the fifth century, was 
destined to revolutionize the churches, and the Christian religion. 
At first it was rejected even when mildly asserted ; but in process 
of time, people became accustomed to it ; the pope's friends, who 
were legion, published it all over the West ; the holiest men were 
engaged in its advocacy ; those who sustained it were upheld by 
Rome in all troubles, and honored by the highest ecclesiastical pre- 
ferments its bishop could bestow or procure. Finally, St. Peter 
became a kind of omnipresent deity, whose head-quarters were 
at Rome, where from his tomb he watched with jealous eye and 
mighty arm over his successors, and those who befriended them ; 
whose all-powerful protection was stretched over the most distant 
priest of Rome, and the poorest devotee who paid any reverence 
to the great bishop who lived on the Tiber. Gifts to Rome 
became donations to St. Peter. Insults to Rome became wrongs 
to St. Peter. The patronage of Rome became the favor of St. 
Peter. The protection of Rome became the shield of St. Peter. 
And all over Western Christendom the identity of privileges 
existing between the departed Peter and the living pope, made 
the Roman Bishop the most revered of mortals. In the council 
at Whitby, A. d. 664, already noticed, Wilfrid, the Romanist, 
addressed Coleman, the anti-papist, and said if "If that Columba 
of yours was a holy man, and powerful in miracles, yet could he 
be preferred before the most blessed prince of the apostles to whom 
our Lord said : " Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will 
build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it, and to thee will I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven?" 

* Quia per omnes ecclesias cura nostra distenditur, exigente hoc a nobis 
Domino, qui apostolicfB dignitatis beatissimo apostolo Petro primatnm fidei 
sna3 remnneratione commisit, universal em ecclesiam in fundamento ipsius 
soliditate constituens, necessitatem solicitndinis, qnam habemus, cum his, 
qui nobis collegii caritate juncti sunt, sociamus. — Leo Ep. v. ad Metropoliianos 
Illy 7'. in Neander, ii. p. 170. 

t Bede's Eccl. Hist., at a d. 664- 



74 THE CHURCH SUPPOSED TO BE BUILT ON PETER. 

King Oswy demanded if it were true that Christ had spoken 
these words to Peter ? Coleman replied : " It is true, O king." 
Then, says he : " Can you show any such power given to your 
Columba ? " " None," Coleman answered. The king immediately 
decided against the anti-papists, received the Romanists into favor, 
and ordered the pope's observances to be kept throughout his 
dominions. And his adversaries found it pleasanter to leave 
Oswy's kingdom than to remain in it. 

St. Peter became an object of terror throughout the barbarous 
nations of Western Europe, through the astonishing fables told 
about him by the clerical friends of the Roman Bishop. Law- 
rence, Archbishop of Canterbury, A. d. 617, was about to leave 
Britain on account of the harsh treatment he received from Ead- 
bald, the heathen and incestuous King of Kent. On the night 
before his departure, there appeared to him "The most blessed 
prince of the apostles," who gave him a long and severe scourg- 
ing, and demanded why he was going to forsake * the flock he 
had committed to him, surrounded as they were by wolves? 
Next day he told the story to Eadbald, and showed him the 
marks of the severe flagellation. Eadbald was greatly alarmed, 
no doubt fearing a similar visit, and sorer blows; and imme- 
diately renounced idolatry and his father's wife, and embraced 
the faith of Christ and the fear of Peter, whose successor was 
Bishop of Rome. 

Pope Vitalian, A. D. 657, in granting a charter for the English 
Abbey of Peterborough, added to it these words : f ^^ If any one 
break this in anything, may St. Peter exterminate him with his 
sword : if any one observe it, may St. Peter, with the keys of 
heaven, open for him the kingdom of heaven." Thus was Peter 
turned into a demon or a deity, to frighten or favor Christians, 
by the adherents of the pontifll 

When Pepin, A. D. 755, reconquered from the Longobards the 
territories they had acquired, he declared that he fought for the 
" Patrimony of St. Peter, ^' and he had a deed of gift made out 
handing over the subjugated region to the Church of Rome ; J 



* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 617. f Bede's Anglo-Saxon Chron., at a.d. 657. 

:}: Neander, iii. 122. 



PETER ALMOST A DEITY. 75 

and this document was placed by his chaplain on the tomb of 
St. Peter. 

Chai'lemagne, "^ the illustrious sovereign and statesman, was 
filled with the highest reverence for St. Peter ; and accompanied 
by the most distinguished persons in his empire, he often visited 
Rome, and there, where the grave of Peter was shown, he missed 
no opportunity of paying the highest honor to the memory of the 
prince of the apostles. 

From England monks * and nuns, ecclesiastics of all ranks, 
nobles and kings came to Rome, for the purpose of visiting the 
tomb of St. Peter ; that tomb, in the seventh and eighth centu- 
ries, to the Anglo-Saxons, was the most sacred spot in Europe, or 
perhaps in Asia. 

St. Peter, with the pope as his successor, became the creator of 
papal supremacy over the churches ; he wrote a famous letter to 
Pepin, t telling him to come to the aid of his representative, the 
pope, with all his forces ; and undoubtedly the letter had great 
influence with the superstitious Frank ; he appeared in visions, 
encouraging obedience to his vicar, the Roman Bishop, or recom- 
mending the presentation to him of some costly gift. Under the 
standard of St. Peter victory succeeded conquest, until over almost 
the entire churches of the West the flag of Simon, that is of 
Rome, waved in triumph. 

At the Revolution, in 1775, the words floated from every lip : 
" !N^o taxation without representation.^' This declaration involved 
the great principle which tore the colonies from the mother coun- 
try, and banded the energies and forces of American patriots on 
every battle-field. What that cry was to the heroes who defended 
our freedom, the words of Jesus about the rock on which he 
should build his Church, about his gift of the keys, and the 
power of binding and loosing to Peter, were to the popes. It 
gathered nearly all the churches and peoples of the West into 
their fold. 

Tim passage gives Peter nopoiver not enjoyed by his brother Apostles, 
The Saviour's words to Peter, by a candid interpretation, show 

^ Neander, iii. 118-20. f Bower's Lives of the Popes, vol. ii. 105. 



76 PETER NOT THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH. 

that Peter was not the rock ; that the rock was his confession. 
The Greek word Petros, or Peter, is not the word translated rock : 
that word is petra. It is very manifest, that if the Saviour meant 
Peter to be known as the rock upon which he was about to build 
his Church, that he would have said : " Thou art Petros, and upon 
this JPetros (^<3v ^l rtirpoj, xal i-Tti rovtci tec, rtstpco) I will build my 
Church.^' But instead of that, he says: "Thou art Petros, and 
upon this petra (^rti tavtyj tyi Ttst pa) I will build my Church." 
Petra is a Greek noun in the feminine gender ; the j)ronoun " this," 
in the Greek text, is in the feminine gender, agreeing with the 
gender of the noun petra ; Petros, or Peter, is in the masculine 
gender. Petra then MUST refer to something different from Peter. 
There would have been Petros on two occasions in this verse, 
instead of Petros and petra, if Peter had been the rock. Besides, 
Petros is a stone, a movable stone; petra is a rock, a mass of 
rocks, a cliff. The one, such a stone as a maid-servant in the 
hall of judgment might upset; the other the Rock of Ages — the 
confession that Peter made that Christ was the Son of the living 
God. And this view was entertained by the most eminent fathers. 
Says St. Augustine : * " The Church does not fall, because it is 
founded on the rock from which Peter received his name. For 
the rock is not called after Peter, but Peter is so called after the 
rock : just as Christ is not so denominated after the Christian, but 
the Christian after Christ ; for it is on this account our Lord de- 
clares, ' on this rock I will found my Church,^ because Peter had 
said: ' Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' On this 
rock which thou hast confessed, he declares, ^I will build my 
Church ;' for Christ was the rock on whose foimdation Peter him- 
self was built.'' 

Chrysostom held the same opinion about this passage. He says -."^ 



* Ecclesia non cadit, quoniam fnndata est super petram, nnde Petrus 
nomen accepit. Non enim a Petro petra, sed Petrus a petra; sicut non 
Cliristus a Christiano, sed Christianus a Christo vocatur. Ideo quippe ait 
Dominus, Super banc petram sedificabo ecclesiani meam, quia dixerat Petrus : 
Tu es Cliristus, Filius Dei vivi. Super lianc ergo petram, quam confessis 
sedificabo ecclesiam meam. Petra enim erat Cbristus super quod fuiidamen- 
tum etiam ipse sedificatus est Petrus. — Tractat. 124, § 5. 

* r',j rttrpa . . , tovrtati toq TtiCtso rrj ouo'KoyLac. — Chrysos. in Matt. 

xvi. 18. 



PETER AND THE KEYS. 77 

" Upon the rock, that is, upon the faith of his confes^on/^ and 
again : * " Christ says that he would build his Church upon Peter's 
confession.'' 

Theodoret says : f " Our Lord permitted the first of the apostles, 
tvhose confession he fixed as a prop or foundation of the Church, to 
be shaken." 

The same view of this Scripture was taken by other leading 
fathers of the Church. And, outside of Rome, for the first five 
centuries of our era, no Christian father of any note dreamt that 
this saying gave Peter the sovereignty of the Church. 

The Rock on which the Church was built was not Petros 
(Peter) but petra, the Rock of Ages, the Divine Son. 

The Keys. 

Romanists, by the keys, sometimes understand Peter's power to 
open heaven for whom he will, and to close it against his enemies ; 
and sometimes the absolute mastery which the Saviour gave him, 
as they suppose, over his Church. As the keys of a house confer 
upon a man the control of that structure, so the keys of the kingdom 
of heaven, given to Peter, it is believed, gave him complete lord- 
ship over the Church. 

The kingdom of heaven in Matt. xvi. 18, is undoubtedly the 
gospel dispensation, as it is in Matt. iii. 2 ; iv. 17 ; x. 7, and else- 
where. And the keys of Peter conferred a special honor on him, 
but no particular power. The gospel kingdom was never properly 
established till the ascension of Jesus, and his occupancy of the 
mediatorial throne, and the descent of the mighty Comforter. And 
when this Comforter comes down in the majesty of regenerating 
power for the first time, on the day of Pentecost, Peter is the 
preacher, and Cephas, with his keys of grace, opens the heavenly 
kingdom to all Israel, and to the assembled Jews of many lands, 
three thousand of whom are converted. 

And when the kingdom of heaven is to be opened to the Gentile 

* -triv ixx^rjaiav t^rjaev erti trjv o^o'Koyio.v olxobof.iri(Siiv rriv ixsivov.-^ 
Chrysos. in John i. 50. 

I ajtoato^iAiv tov rtpuJrov ov tviv uixo'Koyiav olav -dva xprj7il8a, xai 9e/xe%(,ov 
tiji ixx%7jciai xatirtrj^e, ovvex^pyiOE aaXsvOyjvat. — Theod. Ep. 77. 



78 PETER BINDING AND LOOSING. 

nationSj Peter is assigned the pos't of honor. Cornelius, by direc- 
tion of Heaven, sends for Peter ; by the same high authority, Peter 
is admonished to go to the house of the centurion, and there he 
preaches to its Gentile inmates, and they are born into the king- 
dom of Jesus, the first gospel converts from heathen nations. As 
Adoniram Judson opened the heavenly kingdom to the Burmese, 
Peter opened it to Jews and Gentiles. And after this labor, which 
conferred on him an immortality of honor, was over, the work 
of Peter's keys was ended. The promised keys gave Peter no 
jurisdiction, no authority over the Church. 

The Binding and Loosing. 

Peter received undoubted power through the promise : " What- 
soever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and 
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'' 
Peter had the loan of the all-piercing eye of the Divine Spirit to 
see facts, truth, and error, and states of soul, as no man but an 
apostle ever had in the same omniscient fullness. Hence, when 
Ananias came before him, he could tell the covetous hypocrite his 
hidden sin, through divine inspiration. So much was he possessed 
of the Spirit of God, that the falsehood Ananias addressed to him 
appeared to be ^^ a lie, not unto man, but unto God." Since the 
days of the apostles, the power to write Scripture, to possess a 
supernatural knowledge of facts, or to discern the condition of the 
soul, so as to know if it was truly penitent, and if so, or if not so, 
to assure it that its sins were bound on it in heaven, or loosed 
from it by the great Saviour's loving hands, has not existed in any 
mortal. 

The power of binding and loosing was common to all the 
apostles. The Saviour says to them, Matt, xviii. 18: ^^ Verily I 
say unto you. Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in 
heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in 
heaven." Peter had no privilege above his brother apostles. His 
rights and powers were the same as theirs. 

The saying of Jesus to Peter, " I have prayed for thee that thy 
faith fail not," has been quoted by popes on various occasions as 
evidence that Peter was above his apostolic brethren. It furnishes 
testimony only that Peter might be sifted as wheat by the wicked 



THE APOSTLES IGNORANT OF PETER's SUPREMACY. 79 

one, and that he needed the Saviour's intercession to keep him 
from showing the most disgraceful infirmities of the human heart. 
Anyhow, these words have no more to do with the pope than the 
other words of Jesus to Peter : ^^ This night, before the cock crow, 
thou shalt deny me thrice.'' 

The commands of Jesus, to feed his lambs, and to feed his sheep, 
have been urged repeatedly to prove that Peter was pastor of the 
Church universal, or head of the whole Church. The words 
convey no such meaning. Peter was a teacher of the gospel ; and, 
evidently as a rebuke to him for past denials, the Master asks him 
three times if he loves him. Peter is grieved by the question, and 
forthwith he receives the command to feed the lambs and sheep of 
Jesus. ^^ Peter," says Jesus, " if you love me, be faithful in your 
calling, and feed my flock, young and old." It seems absurd in 
the extreme to gather papal sovereignty over the churches from 
such commands. Besides, Peter, riot the pope, is addressed. 

The Apostles were ignorant of Peter^s Authority over them, 

"When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received 
the word of God, they " sent unto them Peter and John " (Acts 
viii. 14) to confirm them. Surely, Peter is not the prince of the 
apostles, sent on a mission by his subjects. After the celebrated 
council held at Jerusalem, a letter is sent to the Christians of Gen- 
tile antecedents in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia ; and the letter 
comes from " the apostles^ and elders, and brethren." Acts xv. 23. 
Now, Peter was among the apostles sending this letter ; but there is 
not a word about him showing that he was not on an equality with 
his brethren. If the papal theory is correct, the letter ought to 
have come from, " Pope Peter, the apostles, elders, and brethren." 
When deacons were to be elected, Pope Peter has no more to do 
with the business than his brethren. It is said (Acts vi. 2) : " Then 
the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them," and 
gave them instructions to choose seven deacons. Paul says : 
" For in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostlesJ' 2 Cor. 
xii. 11. Surely, then, he could have no ecclesiastical superior, or 
his inspired words are false. And at Antioch, Peter acts like one 
unworthy of his Master, and Paul rebukes him, as he would have 



80 PETER HAS NO SUCCESSOR. 

admonislied Timothy or Philemon, ^'And he loithstood him to the 
face J for he was to he blamed J^ Gal. ii. 11. Undoubtedly, Peter 
had not yet learned his o^vn infallibility ; and Paul was totally 
unconscious of Peter^s elevation to the sovereignty of the apostles 
and of the Church. And the whole Scriptures are ignorant of 
this lordship of Peter over Christ^s family. It is destitute of 
Biblical warrant ; it has, therefore, no claim to Divine authority. 

Teter has no successor as Prince of the Apostles. 

It is difficult to succeed one in an office which he never filled, 
and which never existed. 

Peter had no successor as an Apostle. 

Peter himself took an active part in the choice of a successor to 
the apostle Judas, an account of which is given in the first chapter 
of The Acts. Matthias was elected to the place vacated by the 
traitor. No successor was ever appointed to any other departed 
apostle. 

There could not have been a successor to the apostles, according 
to Peter, after the companions of Jesus died. 

In describing the qualifications of a successor to Judas, he says : 
" Wherefore of these men who have companied with us all the 
time that the Lord Jesus loentin and out among us, beginning from 
the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from 
us, must one be ordained to be a witness ivith us of his resurrection.'' 
Acts i. 21, 22. 

The chief business of an apostle was to be an eye-witness of and 
for Christ, and especially of his resurrection. To this end, accord- 
ing to Peter, he must have been with Jesus from his baptism to his 
ascension. And as the class of favored men who enjoyed this dis- 
tinction left the world soon after their Master, earth soon lost the 
entire materials out of which (if Peter was not mistaken) successors 
to the apostles could be made. 

There was an unlovely office, the duties of which, on one occa- 
sion, Peter discharged with great earnestness — the office of blas- 
phemer. When he denied his Master, Mark says : " But he began 
to curse and to swear, I know not the man.'' Mark xiv. 71. 



STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OYER THE CHURCHES. 81 

The word translated curse is " anathe^natize^' {avaeffiatit^ilv)^ the 
very word used at the end of every canon of the Council of Trent. 
That council made 1 26 canons and five decrees on original sin, in 
the form of canons, without the name, and each decree and canon 
is followed by Peter's curse, even Peter''s tvord, transferred into 
Latin, is used {anathema sit). 

The last words uttered in the Council of Trent by its bishops 
were a response to the Cardinal of Lorraine, who exclaimed : "A 
curse upon all heretics '' {anathema cunctis h(Ereticis), and immedi- 
ately the bishops replied : ^' Let them be accursed, let them be 
accursed '' {anathema, anathema). Peter^s word, when he wished to 
give solemnity and credibility to his denial of Jesus, was the last 
word uttered in the Council of Trent by its episcopal members.'^ 

If the succession to Peter fails in some things, it can be stoutly 
maintained in reference to Cursing, by the testimony of every papal 
canon published for many centuries. 

Universal Bishop. 

This title had been denounced by Gregory the Great with scorn 
and horror when given to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Never- 
theless, Boniface, A. D. 609, according to Matthew Paris, solicited 
it from the emperor. Phocas, at the time, sat on the throne of 
Constantinople. This monarch was diminutive and deformed, 
with shaggy eyebrow^s,t red hair, a beardless chin, and a cheek 
disfigured and discolored by a formidable scar. He was quite 
illiterate, and totally destitute of that culture and capacity which 
would fit him for his imperial station. In his moral deficiencies, 
he was remarkable for drunkenness, lewdness, and other brutal 
pleasures. From the rank of a centurion, at a bound, he ascended 
the throne of the Caesars. He had Maurice, his predecessor, and 
his five sons, dragged forth from the church at Chalcedon, in w^hich 
they had taken refuge ; the sons were slain before the eyes of their 
father, and then he was dispatched. Their bodies were throAvn 

* Canones et Decreta Concilii Tridentini. — Acclam. Pair. Sess. xxv. p. 208. 
Lipsiae, 1863. 

t Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," vol. iv. pp. 356, 357. New York ed., 
1832. 

6 



82 STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 

into the sea, and their heads exposed at Constantinople. A little 
later, Theodosius, another son, was butchered by his order at Mce. 
Constantina, the wife of jNIaurice, was respected as among the 
purest and noblest of living women; she had three daughters, who 
were held in the highest esteem. These ladies were seized by 
command of Phocas, and beheaded at Chalcedon, on the same 
ground where the father and his sons perished. 

Other enemies of Phocas had their eyes pierced, their tongues 
torn out, their hands and feet cut off, or their bodies transfixed 
with arrows ; or they were scourged to death ; or they were con- 
sumed to ashes. The hippodrome was ghastly with human heads 
and limbs, and mangled bodies. A baser wretch never stained a 
throne, or invited the vengeance of Heaven. 

Gregory the Great wrote to Phocas on his accession to the 
throne, extending his congratulations in terms of unusual delight, 
saying : * ^' What thanks are we not bound to return to the Al- 
mighty who has, at last, been pleased to deliver us from the yoke 
of slavery ^' (the mild government of the good Maurice), " and to 
make us again enjoy liberty under your empire ! '^ He says : " It 
has pleased the Almighty, in his goodness and mercy, to place you 
on the throne.'^ Truly there is cause for astonishment in reading 
these and kindred sayings of large-hearted old Gregory, commend- 
ing and glorifying a man who carried as many execrations as any 
wretch that ever cursed his race. 

Matthew Paris says that, f "At the request of Boniface, Phocas 
decreed that the Roman Church should be head and mistress of all 
churches ; for, in- times past, the Church of Constantinople had 
styled herself the chief of all churches." Phocas repealed the law 
bestowing the title of universal bishop on the patriarch of JN^ew 
Rome ; and he gave that title, with all its privileges, to BonifaccJ 

The pope assumed it with joy, and resolved to test its worth 
immediately, by exercising the powers it conferred. He forthwith 
called a council, J which met in Rome, consisting of 72 bishops and 
some inferior clergy, in which he acted as if he was monarch of 
the whole Church. By a decree which he issued in that Council, 

* Bower's " History of the Pop:>s," vol. i. p. 420. 

t At A. D. 611. t Bower's " History of-tlie Popes," vol. i. p. 426. 






STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 83 

it was declared, pronounced, and defined, that no election of a 
bishop should henceforth be lawful unless made by the people and 
clergy, and approved by the prince, and confirmed by the pope in- 
terposing his authority in the following terms : * " We will and 
command '' (volumus et jubemus). Thus the imperial power in- 
vested with its high sanctions the claims of the Roman bishops to 
universal supremacy over the churches. Phocas, the basest of 
usurpers and murderers, anointed Boniface as sovereign of Christ's 
entire kingdom. The imperial decree, coupled with the' supposed 
saying of Jesus, that he built his Church on Peter, seemed to fur- 
nish all needed authority, mundane and celestial, for the lordly, 
spiritual empire of Peter's successors. And these two considera- 
tions did give immense aid to the erection of the spiritual tyranny 
of the popes. 

Mohammedan Victories over tlie Eastern Empire and Churches. 

If the churches of the East had retained their old numbers and 
importance, they would have fought Pome for equality, with the 
proudest of her bishops, till the blasts of the last trumpet were 
heard, or the death-knell of superstition was sounded. But help 
came from strange quarters to the Bishops of Pome. 

In the seventh century the warlike followers of the False Pro- 
phet conquered all Arabia, and passed like a whirlwind over the 
famous countries and cities of the East. Palestine fell, and its 
holy city became the prey of the victorious Omar; and the site of 
Solomon's temple furnished the ground for his mosque. 

Damascus yielded to the far-famed Khaled; and all Syria 
submitted to the Moslem yoke. Antioch, whose patriarch proudly 
traced his descent from Peter, was forced to wear the chains of 
Islam. Egypt was snatched from her Christian Emperors. Alex- 
andria, after a siege of fourteen months, surrendered to the Sara- 
cens under the fiery Amrou, giving up four thousand palaces, four 
thousand baths, four hundred theatres, tAvelve thousand stores for 
the sale of vegetable food, and an incalculable amount of wealth. 

In ten years of Omar's administration, the Saracens captured 
thirty-six thousand cities, and four thousand churches. In a hun- 

* Bower's " History of the Popes," vol. i. p. 426. 



84 STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 

drecl years after the prophet set up his oracle at Medina, his fol- 
lowers had seized Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, and Spain. And 
they imperilled the independence of France and Italy. But in 
the East every tiling Christian either perished at their approach, 
or became palsied and panic stricken. In a few years millions of 
Christians died in their fierce wars ; and other millions became 
slaves, proselytes, or martyrs. 

The tide of Christian progress in the East was rolled back- 
ward, and has flowed in that direction ever since. Two centuries 
after Mohammed^ Christians were distinguished from their Moslem 
neighbors by a turban, or a girdle of a less honorable color; 
instead of horses or mules they must ride on asses in the attitude 
of women ; their houses must be smaller ; on all public occasions 
they must bow to the meanest follower of the Prophet ; their tes- 
timony before a magistrate could not be taken against one of the 
faithful. They must ring no bells to invite the followers of Jesus 
to his house. They must make no converts. ^N'or may they 
hinder as many as please from deserting to the fold of Mecca. 

The Greek Emperors were reduced to comparative helplessness ; 
army after army of the faithful had laid siege to Constantinople, and 
only its strong w^alls and Greek fire preserved it from the Moham- 
medan whirlwind of victory that threatened to sweep the empire of 
the Caesars out of existence ; and it appeared for a time not unlikely 
to achieve the conquest of the world. The Greeks would cheerfully 
have ransomed with gold their church and country from these ruth- 
less conquerors ; a price, which the old Romans, whose name they 
proudly bore, or the ancient Macedonians, with whom some of 
them claimed kindred, would have perished rather than, have paid ; 
but the Arabians, on more than one occasion, rejected the cowardly 
bribe. In the time of Irene, however, Harun encamped on the 
heights of Scutari with an army one hundred thousand strong, 
and so terrified were the sovereign and people, that it was agreed 
to pay an annual tribute of 70,000 dinars of gold for the absence 
of these terrible strangers, and the })Ossession of a temporary 
peace. 

The old and eminent patriarchates of Jerusalem, Antioch, and 
Alexandria were almost annihilated. The see of Constantinople 
was tottering on the brink of ruin. The Emperor of the East 



STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 85 

distinctly perceived that his days were numbered, and that he was 
powerless to maintain either the temporal or spiritual supremacy 
of the countries and cities immediately surrounding his throne. 

All rivalry to the pope was at an end. Ancient episcopal 
claimants to co-ordinate jurisdiction were begging his help, and 
though not willing to recognize his pretensions, had no heart for 
controversy; and stripped of their wealth, and robbed by death, 
or the Koran, of a large portion of their flocks, would only have 
been subjects of ridicule if they had. 

At this very time the Roman Bishop stood forth, the owner of 
immense estates in all parts of Italy ; controlling the greatest 
resources of any man in the Eternal City. As the government of 
the Emperor became feeble, and his Italian exarch either fled 
from Ravenna, or wielded an impotent SAVord from that ancient 
city over the western territories of the Caesars, the pope became 
the acknowledged head of old Rome; its natural chieftain to 
whom its people looked up for counsel in civil things, at first, and 
whom they subsequently obeyed as their sovereign. So that the 
ruins of the eastern churches, and of the empire east and west, 
largely tended to glorify the vicars of Peter, as for centuries they 
loved to be called. 

Papal Missions. 

No church, ancient or modern, perfect or defective, has a nobler 
missionary record than the church of the popes. Gregory the 
Great saw in Rome some boys exposed for sale ; their bodies were 
white, their countenances beautiful, and their hair very fine. He 
inquired about their religion, and was grieved to find that they 
were pagans. He asked about their nation, and on learning 
they were Angles : " Right/' * he replied, ^^ for they have 
an angelic face, and it becomes such to be co-heirs with the 
angels in heaven.'^ He asked about the province from which 
they came. He was answered, that " The natives of that province 
were called Deiri." ^^ Truly are they De ira," said he, ^^ withdrawn 
from wrath, and called to the mercy of Christ." And from that 
time Gregory felt a strong desire to see the Anglo-Saxons under 
the gospel yoke. 



* Bede's Eccl. Hist., book ii. chap. 1. 



86 STErS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 

Ethelbert, the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings, was 
married to Bertha, a French princess, and a Christian. She 
enjoyed the free exercise of her religion, and the instructions of a 
bishop who came with her. Gregory took advantage of this 
circumstance to send Augustine, a Roman abbot, in A. D. 596, to 
Ethelbert to preach the gospel to him and his people. Forty 
monks accompanied the missionary. After starting on his jour- 
ney he began to reflect upon the character of the barbarous people 
among whom he was going to labor, and of whose very language 
he was ignorant ; and possessing but little of the material out 
of which martyrs- are made he became discouraged, if not terrified, 
by the prospect before him ; and he returned to Rome. Gregory 
persuaded him again to go to the heathen islanders. The second 
time he persevered until he reached Britain. He landed on the 
Isle of Thanet, where he remained for some time. Then he and 
his associates were permitted to locate in Canterbury, the capital 
of Ethelbert's kingdom of Kent. A dilapidated church, dedicated 
to St. Martin, existing from the times of the Romans, furnished 
them their first temple in Canterbury. In process of time Ethel- 
bert was converted; others followed his example, though he 
publicly proclaimed universal freedom of conscience. The work 
prospered in Augustine's hands so extensively, that, during one 
Christmas he baptized more than ten thousand. Canterbury was 
made the ecclesiastical capital of England, because London, 
though much larger, was in the hands of Pagans. Gregory 
not only made Augustine Archbishop of Canterbury, but he 
sent him " copies of the sacred Scriptures,"^ relics to be used in 
consecrating new churches, ecclesiastical vessels ; " and some 
lengthy and curious answers to certain questions Augustine 
proposed. 

The labors of Augustine were attended by the most remarkable 
results, even in his lifetime, though he died A. D. 605. And after 
his death, his companions and followers spread over all England, 
and never rested until the cross was planted on every hill, and 
gave its protection to every valley, and stood, in his own home, 
before the eye of every Angle, Jute, and Saxon in Britain, as a 

* Neander, iii. 15. 



STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 87 

dearer emblem than the image of Thor or Woden ; as the most 
sacred treasure under the skies. 

The island thus converted, added largely to the numerical 
strength of the Papal Church ; and in three or four centuries, 
became not only a large centre of population, but a powerful 
kingdom. 

All the churches of the Anglo-Saxons were bound to Rome by 
the strongest ties. They admitted her supremacy, obeyed her 
edicts, and vastly increased her glory among the nations, and her 
supremacy over the churches. 

The Conversion of the Germans, 

An Anglo-Saxon, named ^Yinfrid, born at Kirton in Devon- 
shire, and educated in the convents of Exeter and Nutescelle, was 
the apostle of Germany. He is best known as Boniface. Win- 
frid was a man of great courage, untiring perseverance, consider- 
able mind, and extreme credulity. 

He greatly loved the Scriptures ;'^ and in his German home often 
sent for them from the land of his birth, with expositions of them, 
distinctly ^^Titten, on account of his weak eyes. He requested an 
abbess, who was accustomed to send him clothes and books from 
England, to procure him a copy of Peter's epistles, written with 
gilt letters, for his use in preaching. He regarded himself as the 
missionary of St. Peter, whose successor* had sent the gospel to 
his fathers, and in all his labors he felt called upon to pay peculiar 
honor to that apostle. 

He was set apart to preach in Germany, by Gregory II. at 
Rome, A. D. 718, and after twenty-one years' labor he had baptized 
100,000 converts. German forests had rung with his honest fer- 
vor ; by German rivers listening multidudes had learned the cross 
from his glowing representations. 

At Geismer, in Upper Hesse, grew a gigantic oak, sacred to 
mighty Thor, the god of thunder ; this tree was reverenced with 
the most profound awe by the population far and near ; to it the 
whole people frequently came, on solemn occasions. Winfrid saw 

* Neander, iii. 52. 



88 STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 

ill it a great enemy to his Master and to his own mission, and at 
all hazards he resolved to destroy it. Boniface and his friends 
came to the sacred oak armed with a formidable axe, the pagans 
gathered in terror to watch the scene ; they expected that Thor 
would destroy the impious wretches the moment the first stroke 
was given ; but the huge tree Avas cut down and divided into four 
parts, before their eyes, without miracle or accident ; and Thor and 
his system fell with it. This remarkable man lived to carry the 
cross over as wide a field as ever was planted by the Christian 
enterprise of one person, and he died in Friesland, in his seventy- 
fifth year, a. d. 755, by the hands of pagan persecutors, where he 
had recently baptized thousands, and founded many churches. 

He was a man of spotless purity of life, and he urged the same 
godliness upon others. Few nobler appeals against an unholy life 
were ever made than his letter to Ethelbald, an Anglo-Saxon king, 
in wiiich he shows him that even the heathen Saxons in Germany 
spurned such crimes as his with horror. William of Malmsbury 
honors his country by preserving the document.* 

He was the slave of the popes ; brought up from childhood to 
revere them, he felt bound in conscience to obey them in everything ; 
had it not been for that, Winfrid would have been equally great 
as a missionary, and free from all religious mistakes. This error 
made him oppose and even persecute the British and Scotch mission- 
aries in Germany. And it made him bind his German church hand 
and foot, and deliver it over to the Bishop of Rome, to be ruled, 
taught, or kept in ignorance, in coming time, at his pleasure. 

The mighty work commenced by Boniface was carried on by 
succeeding hands till Germany was placed under the spiritual 
supremacy of the pontiffs. Germany and England, both the fruits 
of Augustine's mission at Canterbury, gave the largest contribu- 
tion to papal supremacy ever presented on two occasions, to the 
vicars of Peter. Men of similar principles and labors led the 
Scandinavians and others to the cross, and bound them firmly to 
the spiritual sovereignty of the pope. Through missions, the 
Roman bishop received his most obedient subjects, and the great- 
est number of them. 

• English Chronicle, book i. chap. 4. 



STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OYER THE CHURCHES. 89 

Papal interference in the troubles of Bishops. 

This was another stream which aided to swell the mighty cur- 
rent of papal supremacy over the churches. Every bishop in dis- 
grace with his sovereign, or his archbishop, or his synod of bishops, 
naturally looked out for a friend who was able to help him. The 
influence of so great a bishop as the pope would be of advantage 
to any troubled prelate ; and nearly every unhappy bishop appealed 
to his brother in the Eternal City. With an utter indifference to 
annoyance and responsibility, the pontiff was ready to examine 
every application, and with a peculiarity which became generally 
known, more commonly than otherwise, decided in favor of the 
first applicant ; and as these appeals became exceedingly numerous, 
and as the befriended bishops naturally magnified the wisdom and 
authority of the judge who had justified them, the Bishop of Rome 
increased in spiritual power immensely. 

Papal intermeddling loith the troubles of Kings. 

This became a common practice of the pontiffs, and one which 
tended largely to advance their priestly authority. In France, in 
the eighth century, the descendants of the warlike Clovis lived in 
a palace near Compiegne, the nominal sovereigns of the Franks ; 
they wielded no power over the nation, and they enjoyed no respect; 
once a year they were conducted in a wagon drawn by oxen to the 
assembly of the Franks, to give audience to foreign ambassadors, 
and to ratif}" the acts of the mayor of the palace ; that officer was 
the master of the king, and the head of the nation. But he wished 
the nominal monarch to be deposed, and the title as well as the 
fimctions of royalty to be conferred upon himself. Childeric, as 
king, had received oaths of loyalty from his leading subjects, and 
in that age an oath still meant something. Pepin saw no way of 
reaching the throne except through the authority of St. Peter and 
his successor. He applied to Pope Zachary ; his holiness decided 
that Childeric should be degraded, shaved,* and confined for life in 
a monastery, and that the throne might be given to Pepin. The 
French were pleased ; Pepin and his family were delighted, and 



* Gibbon's '-' Decline and Fall," vol. v. p. 28. Boston, 1854. 



90 STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 

any number of advantages accrued from this decision to the bishops 
of Rome. 

Pepin twice crossed into Italy and inflicted such chastisements 
upon the Lombards as freed the Roman bishops from all appre- 
hensions from them. And the French sovereign generously gave 
to the pope the exarchate of Ravenna, " the limits of which were 
included in the territories of Ravenna, Bologna, and Ferrara: 
Pentapolis was its inseparable dependency, which stretched along 
the Adriatic from Rimini to Ancona, and advanced into the coun- 
try as far as the ridges of the Apennine.^^ * And the pope 
became a king with all the rights of royalty. Charlemagne 
confirmed and increased the grants of his father Pepin. The 
popes stood before the world as the favorites of Pepin and Charle- 
magne, the two most illustrious statesmen and successful warriors 
in the Christian world. Prankish bishops, with ideas of church 
liberty such as were common two centuries before, were compelled to 
acquiesce in the supremacy of the pontiffs. Irish bishops and 
churches in Germany must not utter their protests against papal 
supremacy very loudly, or they shall be driven from Charlemagne's 
empire. All encouragement must be given to Boniface in extending 
the borders of the Church in that country, and in chaining it to 
St. Peter's chair. This one act of interference actually placed at the 
service of St. Peter's vicar, the greatest influences and powers of 
the age ; and it gave a force to the spiritual supremacy of the 
popes, which for a time cleared its path of opposition. Similar 
interferences often produced results of the same character, if not 
reaching quite as lofty a standard. The Childerics pine in un- 
sought convents, and the popes are made secular sovereigns, and 
spiritual despots, as the wages of injustice. 

The Pallium, 

This garment has played its part in the drama of spiritual 
supremacy. It is composed of a long strip of fine woollen cloth, 
ornamented with crosses, the middlef of Avhich was formed into a 

* Gibbon's " Decline and Fall," vol. v. p. 28. Boston, 1854. 
f Bede. Bohn's ed., p. 45, note. 



STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 91 

loose collar resting on the shoulders, while the extremities before 
and behind hung down nearly to the feet. It was conferred at 
first by the Bishops of Rome * on their special representatives 
[apostolicis vicariis) among the bishops, or on the primates. Its 
object was apparently to show favor to.some choice friend, when first 
conferred ; but it came in time to be an indispensable title to the 
episcopal office. 

Pope Boniface sends the pallium to Justus, Archbishop of 
Canterbury, telling him in an accompanying letter that " He only 
gives him leave to use it in the celebration of the sacred mysteries.^^ f 
Pope Honorius sent it to Paulinus, A. D. 634,J meaning thereby 
that he was Archbishop of the IN^orthumbrians. For a long 
interval, the Archbishops of York received no pallium or pall. 
Paris says : '' In the year of our Lord 745, Egbert, Archbishop 
of York, laudibly recovered the pall which had been omitted to 
be received by eight bishops.^^ § 

Offa, King of the Mercians, having quarrelled with the people of 
Kent, tried to deprive Jainbert, Archbishop of Canterbury, of the 
primacy; and to accomplish this he sent messengers to Pope 
Adrian, || to persuade him to confer the pall on the Bishop of 
Lichfield, and make all his bishops subject to that prelate. From 
which statement it is evident, that at that time, the pall was a 
bishop's title to rule his brethren. It was equally needful to 
ordain them. Du Pin quotes a letter of Pope John YIIL, con- 
demning the metropolitans of France for consecrating bishops 
before they received T the pall from the Holy See. 

The pall was given to archbishops from the fifth century : from 
the eighth it began ^"^ to be given to metropolitans. At first it 
was a mere ornament, and a token of papal regard ; a ribbon of 
the papal " Legion of Honor.'' But in time it became a custom, 
strong as law, that no metropolitan could perform any ecclesiastical 
function without it. And as the pope might give it or not as he 
pleased, he acquired unlimited control over the whole episcopacy 

* ISTeander, iii. 119, note. j Bede's Clmrcli History, book ii. chap. 9. 

X Id., book ii. cliap. 17. § Anglo-Saxon Chron., at a. d. 748. 

n Paris, A. D. 767. ^ Vol. ii. 145. 

*:- "The Pope and Council," by Janus, p. 136. Boston, 1870. 



92 STEPS TO PAPAL SUPEEMACY OYER THE CHURCHES. 

and priesthood, in part, by this article. In the j&fteenth century * 
German archbishops had to pay about $8000 for this precious 
badge of slavery. 

Purgatory, 

As faith iu this doctrine became prevalent, from the end of the 
seventh century onward, the power of the clergy in general grew 
at an alarming rate. Men who could add a thousand or ten 
thousand centuries to your torments by a word ; who could keep 
your mother, wife, or child as long as they pleased, or only for a 
moment, in raging flames, were not to be treated as other men, 
who could only hurt the body. As the existence of these purify- 
ing torments seized the minds of men, they left money for masses 
for the repose of their souls ; they were filled with unspeakable 
terror in prospect of death ; real estate in large quantities was 
given to the Church to modify the pains and abridge the duration 
of the torments of purgatory. So lucrative had purgatory become 
that at one time, says Hallam, " nearly half the land f in England 
belonged to the Church ; '^ and what was true of Britain may be 
asserted of the continent of Europe. The Church became the 
greatest landlord in the world ; and with the prestige of enormous 
wealth, nothing could resist her. 

The Roman bishop stood at the head of all the masters of purga- 
tory ; he, above all others, could give relief or continue pain, and 
it became of the very highest importance to cultivate his good 
will ; and not to thwart his wishes ; in short, to let him have su- 
premacy everywhere. Dying kings, expiring statesmen, departing 
millionaires, and men of influence, alarmed for their souls, were 
ready to make any sacrifice ; they were willing to concede any- 
thing to his Holiness for a cool and speedy passage through 
Hades. While to the living, and ambitious, or covetous, the pope 
was the chief officer of the richest corporation of all time^ whose 
fertile acres, great abbeys, gorgeous cathedrals, jewelled Madonnas 
and mitres, and ever expanding wealth, made her first priest a 
man of infinite importance to conciliate. In this way, purgatory 

* " The Pope and Council," by Janus, p. 137. Boston 1870. 
t Hallam's "Middle Ages," vol. i. chap. 7. 



STEPS TO PAPAL «rPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 93 

labored to give the pope that which he desired most, unlimited 
authority over the churches. 



The Benefits conferred hy the Popes. 

The bishops of Rome had two channels for making their 
influence felt over tlie churches ; the clergy, and the monks. 
Through the priests, for a long time, the popes showed themselves 
kind fathers of the great masses of the people. In ages when the 
serf, and the mechanic, and the merchant were of no more im- 
portance than stubble, and the chieftain was a dignitarj almost 
worthy of Divine honors, the Church took some honest son of 
poverty and toil, and made him a bishop, a baron, the equal of the 
proudest thanes of a kingdom. And in facts of this kind, the 
priests appeared as the greatest friends of the lowly. 

In times of oppression, the churches, and frequently the ceme- 
teries, were sanctuaries where the terrified fugitive might defy the 
constable, the court, or the king. The tortured slave could not 
be torn from the church by his angry master, until assurances 
were given that he should not be beaten on his return to his 
home. 

Frequently, when fierce kings were about to drag their inno- 
cent vassals to fields of slaughter, a priestly representative of the 
Roman Bishop would soothe their resentments, and sheathe their 
swords. And often, when armies were drawn up in battle array, 
papal delegates went from king to king, until a truce was settled, 
and the soldiers disbanded. 

The Bishops of Rome showed the greatest hostility to human 
slaveiy, and for many centuries wielded a vast influence to uproot 
the institution where it existed, and to mitigate its barbarities 
when its destruction was not possible. 

Through the monks of the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, 
and, in some instances, later still, the popes were the benefactors 
of the nations. These men were directly dependent on the pontifls, 
and their labors reflected credit or dishonor upon their commander- 
in-chief in the Eternal City. They were the schoolmasters of 
Europe for centuries, and they turned out some disciples of whom 
the world is still proud. They wrote the histories of Europe 



94 STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 

for ages. Their literary performances are treasures which we 
cannot spare, in which the cultivated reader has special pleasure. 
Tliese men manufactured all the books of the old world for centu- 
ries. In their humble cells they composed them, and then they 
multiplied copies with the pen, until the largest works were acces- 
sible to all who could read, or cared to use them. And the 
writing of those books was often done with a taste and splendor 
which can scarcely be imitated by all the skill and mechanism of 
the 19th century. A volume of fac-similes of capital letters, made 
by these old monks, lies before me ; and any thing more exqui- 
sitely beautiful, more superbly grand, in design and coloring, could 
not be conceived. A few of these letters are six and eight inches 
long ; sometimes, they are gilt ; more frequently, they are painted. 
Flowers of gorgeous colors, perfect butterflies, glorious angels, 
saintly priests, and venerable bishops appear in these letters. The 
originals enrich museums, of which these are but pictures. 

Monks made myriads of copies of the word of God ; from their 
pen and bindery, it went forth to gladden the eyes and rejoice the 
souls of millions. 

The monk threshed his wheat, plowed his fields, performed a 
list of religious duties every day, and, from the seventh to the 
tenth century, was the instructor of his neighbors, not only in 
letters from the alphabet up, but in the best modes of farming, 
and in the use of the latest mechanical inventions. 

The convent furnished meals and lodging to every traveller, as is 
still done by monasteries in Palestine; it supplied the wants 
of the poor for many miles around. It rendered needless the 
hotel and the almshouse, the scourge of hunger, and the heavy 
poor tax. 

Bede, in the Convent of Yarrow, was a highly-favored monk, in 
the light of science and learning, and in the grace of God. 

Malmsbury says that his abbot, Benedict, " was the first person 
who introduced constructors of stone edifices into England, as well as 
makers of glass windows." He quotes Bede as stating : * " I have 
given my whole attention to the study of the Scriptures, and amid the 
observance of my regular discipline, and my daily duty of singing 

* William of Malmsbury's English Chronicle, book i. chap. 3. 



STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 95 

in the church, I have ever delighted to learn, to teach, or to 
write." This monk wrote seventy-six books, and sent them 
abroad in thirty-six volumes. He translated the Gospel of John 
into English for the benefit of his friends who did not understand 
Latin. He was constantly engaged in teaching. A more 
blameless, active, and useful life has seldom been given to men 
than his. 

When he came near death, ^^ I desire to be dissolved," he says, 
" and to be with Christ ; I have not j)assed my life among you in 
such a, manner as to be ashamed to live ; neither do I fear to die, 
because we have a kind INIaster." When sorely pained, he said : 
"The furnace tries the gold, and the fire of temptation the just 
man ; the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be 
compared to the future glory which shall be revealed in us." At 
night, he spent the whole time in singing psalms and giving 
thanks. On Ascension day, he lay down upon a hair cloth near 
the oratory where he used to pray, he invited the grace of the Holy 
Spirit, saying : " O King of glory. Lord of virtue, who ascend- 
edst this day triumphant into the heavens, leave us not destitute, 
but send upon us the promise of the Father, the Spirit of TruthJ^ 
When the prayer was over, his soul had ascended to God. Bede 
died A. D. 734, in his fifty-ninth year. 

In this account, given by the monk William of Malmsbury, he 
is corroborated by Paris and St. Cuthbert ; and it is worthy of 
notice that no prayer is offered to the Virgin Mary, or to any 
saint or angel ; not a word is said about purgatory or penances. 
Bede lived like a true disciple, and he died in a sure hope of 
being with the Lord w^ien he passed away. 

Bede, as a scholar, was beyond the rivalry of any Englishman 
in his day ; his piety, too, was probably unequalled in or out of 
his own country. But there were thousands of monks in the 
previous and two subsequent centuries who walked with God. 
Doubtless they were defective in many things, but they were 
heavenly-minded men, with Christ in their hearts; and they 
shine in glory to-day among the most conspicuous of the re- 
deemed. 

The nations felt themselves under lasting obligations to these 
school-masters, authors, pen-printers, book-binders, professors of 



96 STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMA<rr OVER THE CHUECHES. 

sciences, of theology, of agriculture; to these benevolent hosts, 
who kept free hotels for travellers, and abundance of food for the 
poor ; to these preachers who visited the homes of wealth and the 
cottages of want, telling the story of the Cross, and communicat- 
ing the same blessed tidings by the wayside, in the village, in the 
church, and wherever men congregated ; to these saints of God 
who, while showing constantly the largest love to men, lived in 
the closest intimacy with the Eternal King. It is not to be 
understood that all monks, at the period named, even in the 
country of Bede, were good or pious men. Indeed, in Italy, and 
esj)ecially in Rome, religion had little place in the hearts of 
monks, clergy, or people. But elsewhere the peoples, sensible of 
the varied and vast benefits received from godly monks, bestowed 
their finest lands upon the convents, showered their wealth upon 
the abbeys, and fitted them, some ages later, to be scenes of sloth, 
luxury, and odious vice. 

The monks everywhere extolled the pope. He only could pro- 
tect them from the tyranny of bishops and parish priests, between 
whom and them there was constant jealousy. And with a hearty 
good-will they commended him everywhere as the purest and 
mightiest of mortals, the successor of glorious Peter, the prince of 
the apostles, the special favorite of God. They made Europe ring 
with the praises and powers of the Bishop of Rome ; the priests 
were inclined in the same direction; the people followed with 
acclamation; and the pontiffs were carried on a great tidal 
wave of popular enthusiasm into the throne of kings of the 
Church. 

Forgeries. 

The Bishops 0/ Rome have never been slow to take advantage 
of anything that will aid them in obtaining power. Perhaps no 
one of them ever committed or encouraged forgery. Several of 
them certainly used the false documents made by others to increase 
their authority, just as if they had been genuine records. 

The most notorious, and we may add the most outrageous 
instrument of this character, is known as the " Donation of Con- 
stantine.'' It is founded on a fable that he was healed of leprosy 
and baptized by Pope Sylvester at Rome, and that the Great 
Constantine, out of gratitude, bestowed the sovereignty of Italy 



I 



STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 97 

and of the western provinces on the poj^e. The pontiff is repre- 
sented as lord of all bishops, having authority over the four patri- 
archs of Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. 
Constantine confesses in it, how he served the pope as groom, and 
led his horse some distance. The entire statement is a base forgery. 
Constantine reigned over old Rome till his death. His successors 
on the imperial throne exercised unquestioned dominion over the 
Eternal City. No one ever heard of this grant for at least four, 
and perhaps, five hundred years after it should have been made. 
On the strongest authority, the Christian world has always be- 
lieved he was baptized in Nicomedia. * From the canons of 
councils, and other undoubted testimonies, it is certain that the 
Roman bishops, at no time, had any authority over one of the 
Eastern patriarchs. In the language of a learned editor of 
Mosheim,t " The document is universally allowed to be spurious,^^ 
and yet it was used for centuries to sustain the pope's temporal 
authority over Rome and Italy ; and his spiritual dominion over 
the Church. 

Under the revered name of Isidore, Bishop of Seville, in the 
early part of the seventh century, the greatest batch of forgeries 
ever palmed upon men was published in western Gaul about A. d. 
850. It was believed at that time that the Church was built upon 
Peter, and that his supposed successor was invested with extensive 
powers ; but the pontiffs wanted something more, and by the 
providence of the wicked one, it comes in the form of a " complete 
series of decretals of the Roman bishops from Clement down; 
most of them utterly unknown before. The fraud was clumsily 
contrived and ignorantly executed, J and had the deception not 
fallen in with a predominant interest of the Church, it might have 
been easily exposed. The letters were for the most part made up 
of passages borrowed from far later ecclesiastical documents, which 
the compiler took the liberty to alter and mutilate to suit his pur- 
pose. These ancient Roman bishops quote Scripture from a Latin 
translation formed from the mixture of one made by Jerome with 
another that had been current in earlier times.'' 

* Ensebius' Life of Constantine, book iv. chap. 63. 
f Mosheim. London 1848, p. 271, note. 
X Neander, iii. 347. 

7 



98 STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OVER THE CHURCHES. 

These letters occasionally forget the lapse of time. Victor, 
Bishop of Rome^ is made to write about the observance of the pass- 
over to Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, who lived two centuries 
later ! 

The Bishop of Rome wanted some early authority for his power 
over the keys ; and as it was never dreamt of before the middle 
of the fifth century, and as then it was only a dream, Isidore makes 
a letter from Pope Julius about A. d. 338, declaring that '^ The 
church of Rome by a singular privilege has the right of opening 
and shutting the gates of heaven to whom she will.^' "^ Julius little 
imagined that he would be engaged in writing letters five hundred 
years after his death, and in writing opinions which he never enter- 
tained Avhen living, and which none of the dead, holy or Avicked, 
ever received. 

Ennodius in defending Pope Symmachus, f A. D. 503, said, "That 
the popes inherit innocence and sanctity from St. Peter ;" and as 
this doctrine was flattering, and fitted to increase their power, Isi- 
dore creates two synods at Rome, which unanimously approve the 
teaching of Ennodius. 

The Roman bishop wished to prohibit all men, even though kings, 
from calling councils, and to keep these powerful bodies entirely in 
his own hands ; and Isidore makes Pope Julius write that, " The 
apostles^ and the ISTicene council had said that no council could be 
held without the pope's command.'' 

The Roman bishops saw that an excommunicated man could 
buy and sell, enjoy the love of his friends and the society of his 
circle as well after the Church's curse as before it ; and perceiving 
that if excommunication forbade all intercourse with an anathema- 
tized man, his family would do nothing for him, his soldiers would 
not obey him, his subjects would have nothing to do with him ; 
he would be absolutely at their mercy ; and reflecting that they 
could hurl this bolt at any time against the meanest or the most 
exalted ; they quickly saw that exclusion from intercourse would 
make every man their slave ; and, in Isidore, the " earliest popes 
declare! that no speech could be held with an excommunicated 

* " The Pope and Council," by Janus, p. 88. 

fid., p. 91. I Id., p. 95. §Id., p. 97. 



STEPS TO PAPAL SUPREMACY OYER THE CHURCHES. 99 

man/' This barbarous law, intended solely to further papal des- 
potism, soon became a part of the code of the Church, and is there 
now. 

But these forgeries are too extensive to examine separately. They 
declare the priests to be the apple of God's eye ; and as they are 
the representatives of God, the decretals assert that a sin against 
them is a transgression against Jehovah. The forgeries claim that 
priests are subject to no secular tribunal ; that Jehovah has 
appointed them judges over all. 

False Isidore frequently declares that Jesus Christ has made the 
Church of Rome the head of all churches, the sole and sufficient 
judge of all bishops, and the only authority by which a regular 
synod can ever be convened. Other forgeries followed the suc- 
cessful efforts of Isidore, until Pope Nicolas I. and pontiffs of 
equal ability and similar ambition, in ages of special darkness, 
abolished the whole liberties of the .churches in nearly every country, 
and threatened the last vestige of freedom where a trace of it, as 
in France, was permitted to remain. No agencies rendered better 
service to the popes, in vaulting into their spiritual throne, than 
the labors of the pious forgers. 

Oaths of obedience, binding the bishops to the pope and his 
interests, have aided the pontiff in securing his spiritual empire. 

The Inquisition, though a little late in the field, has done some 
very gory service, in securing papal ascendancy. 

The work has been crowned in Rome at the recent council, when 
it declared the "dogma of infallibility." Now the bishops are 
nothing ; the inferior clergy are nothing ; the laity, plebeian and 
patrician, sovereign and subject are nothing. In the papal Church 
in matters of faith there is one man, and all the rest are but sha- 
dows. He can proclaim anything as an article of faith, as a rule 
of life, and the whole Church must accept it. The sovereignty of 
the popes over the Church is now complete ; only the celestial 
Head, set aside for a crowned priest ; only the heavenly Founda- 
tion, removed for a wavering apostle, can breathe Christian liberty 
among the bondmen held in subjection by the Bishop of Rome. 



THE POPE CLAIMS TO BE LORD OE KmGS AND 

NATIONS. 

Systems of religion may teach contradictory opinions about the 
persons of the Godhead, the character of the Divine government, 
the nature of the Saviour's sacrifice, and about the freedom of the 
will ; and yet those who receive these diverse opinions may live 
in perfect harmony with each other. But it is otherwise when 
the head of one sect claims the sceptres and nations as his own, 
asserts a right to dethrone sovereigns, to act as the vicar of the 
Almighty in this world, in confirming or overturning at his plea- 
sure its laws, institutions, and chief magistrates. The conviction 
is universal, over the Protestant world, that the head of the 
Catholic Church claims this power, would exercise it if he could 
in every nation, and has employed it in many instances. 

This conviction has prompted the enactment of laws excluding 
Catholics from state ofiices, and of oaths requiring them to re- 
nounce the supremacy of the pontiff in civil affairs; and it has 
occasionally led to popular outbreaks in Protestant countries 
against the adherents of the papal Church. It must be confessed 
that there is a chronic apprehension among all the peoples whose 
fathers threw off the Roman yoke in the sixteenth century, that 
the Bishop of the Eternal City is only awaiting an opportunity to 
subjugate their souls to his superstition, and their governments to 
his tyrannical will. The history of the Bishops of Rome compels 
the existence of this fear. 

The Pope gave England to William the Conqueror, 

Harold, whatever may have been his faults, or the defect of 
his title to the English crown, was accepted by the nation as its 
100 



ENGLAND GIVEN TO WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 101 

ruler ; the land enjoyed peace in all its borders ; the hopes of the 
people, based on the character and ability of the new sovereign, 
were high. William, Duke of Normandy, born out of wedlock, 
was a special favorite of Pope Alexander II. The Duke was full 
of ambition, a man of extraordinary courage, and of great military 
ability. His passions were unrestrained, his cruelty was nearly 
unbounded, and the only rights which he saw or respected were 
those which an invincible sword defended. Bent upon wearing 
the English crown, he made all possible warlike preparations. He 
was encouraged, secretly or openly, by Germany and France. But 
he needed another ally to sow discord in the British ranks, and 
give him a title to the throne which the islanders would respect, 
and he appealed to Pope Alexander. The Roman pontiff had 
nearly reached the lofty position of Deity in the estimation of 
western Europe ; never in all human history did a mortal receive 
such unquestioning homage from so many millions. His word 
was the voice of the Ancient of Days ; his decision was authorita- 
tive, as the decree of the Almighty ; his favorite was guarded by 
angels, and attended at every step by the assistance of the very 
elements ; the legions of monks who swarmed throughout Europe 
upheld his friend against all the world, and Alexander drew his 
spiritual sword in William's favor ; he excommunicated Harold 
and all his supporters, denounced him as a perjured usurper ; he 
sent William a banner * which he had specially blessed, and which 
was sure to lead to victory, and a ring with one of the hairs of 
mighty St. Peter in it. And, thus armed, he went forth to 
slaughter the spiritual children of Alexander in the kingdom of 
England. William felt that he could have no more exalted sanc- 
tion ; that failure, with such means as he possessed, was impos- 
sible ; and, from the hour in which he was assured of the pope's 
approval, he never wavered, not even on the dark and gory day 
that placed the crown of England at his feet. On the bloody field 
of Hastings, when William had vainly made every effort to break 
the ranks of Harold, when success seemed to many to be impos- 
sible, he ordered a pretended retreat, seeing which the English 
scattered to pursue the flying Normans ; that act cost Harold his 



Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1066, 



102 IRELAND A PAPAL GIFT. 

crown, and England its independence. "William quickly reformed 
his men, who fell with fury upon their pursuers, and, after a des- 
perate struggle, the Duke of Normandy was master of England. 
But, from the commencement of the battle, his army was confident 
of victory from the assurances of the pope — the earthly voice of 
God. The troops of Harold were sure of defeat from the utter- 
ances of the same oracle. It was with the battle-axe * of 
Pope Alexander that William broke the arm and heart of Eng- 
land on the fatal field of Hastings. This faithful son of the 
Church lived to rob nearly every leading Saxon of his homestead ; 
to lay waste whole counties ; to slaughter entire communities with 
pitiless barbarity ; to plant lasting hatreds between the Norman 
conquerors and their English vassals — hatreds which produced 
harvests of burned dwellings, infamous oppressions, and sickening 
murders. William inaugurated in England a reign of iniquity, 
whose atrocious deeds cursed long centuries. 

Ireland a Papal gift to England. 

Matthew Paris tells us that Henry IL, king of England, sent a 
solemn embassy to solicit Pope Adrian^s permission to invade and 
conquer Ireland, and to bring into the way of " truth its bestial f 
inhabitants,'^ by extirpating vice among them. This request was 
gladly granted by his Holiness, who sent Henry the following 
bull: X ^^Adrian, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his 

* Hume's " History of England," chap. iii. 

f Homines illos bestiales ... extirpatis ibi plantariis vitiorum. — Matt. 
Paris, at A. d. 1156, p. 95. London, 1640. 

X Adrianus episcopus servus servorum Dei, cliarissimo in .Christo filio, 
illnstri Anglormn, regi salutem, et apostolicam benedictionem. Lauda- 
biliter ssitisfructuose de glorioso nomine too propagando in terris, et seternse 
felicitatis prsemio cumulando in coelis tua magnificentia cogitat, dum ad 
dilatandos ecclesise terminos, ad declarandam indoctis et rudibns populis 
Christianae fidei veritatem, et vitiorum plantaria de agro Domiuico 
extirpanda, sicut Catliolicus princeps intendis, et ad id convenientius exe- 
quendum,' consilium sedi- Apostolicae exigis et favorem. In quo facto, 
quanto altiori consilio et m'ljori discretione procedis, tanto in eo felici- 
orem progressum te, parante Domino, confidimus liabiturum. Significasti 
siquidem nobis, till in Christo charissime, te Hiberniae insulam, ad sub- 
dendum populum legibus Christianis, et vitiorum inde plantaria extirpanda 
velle intrare, et de singulis domibus, anuuam unius denarii beato Petro velle 



THE BULL OF ADRIAN. 103 

dearest son m Christ, the ilhistrious king of England, health and 
his apostolical blessing. Laudably and advantageously does your 
majesty plan to secure a glorious name on earth, and to increase the 
reward of everlasting felicity in the heavens, whilst as a Catholic 
prince you strive to extend the boundaries of the Chwch, to proclaim 
the truths of Christianity to an uneducated and rude people, and 
to banish the seeds of vice from the field of the Lord ; to secure this 
object more conveniently, you demand the advice and favor of the 
Apostolic See. In this project, the higher your aim, and the greater 
your discretion, so much happier, the Lord preparing the way, we 
are confident, will be your success in it. You have signified to 
us, dearest son in Christ, that you wished to invade the island of 
Ireland, to subdue its inhabitants to the laws of Christ, and to 
banish from it the seeds of vice ; and that you wished to pay 
annually for every house to blessed Peter one denarius (fifteen 
cents — ^ Peter's pence ') ; and also to 'preserve the rights of the 
churches in that land pure and unbroken. Now, we, regarding 
your pious and j^raiseworthy desire with deserved favor, and giving 
a kind assent to your petition, reckon it agreeable and welcome that, 
to enlarge the borders of the Church, to restrain vice, to correct 
morals, to introduce virtue, and to increase the Christian religion. 



solvere pensionem : ita et jnra ecclesiarum illiiis terree illibita et Integra coii- 
servare. Nos auteni pium et laudabile desideriaiii tuum favore coiigruo pro- 
seqiientes, et petition! tuae benignum impendentes assensnm, gratum et 
acceptnm habemus, ut pro dilatandis ecclesise terminis, vitiorum restringendo 
discursu, pro corrigendis moribus et virtutibiis inferendis, pro Christian?e re- 
ligionis angmento, insiilam illam ingrediaris, et quae ad honorera Dei et 
salutem illins terrae spectaverint, exequaris : et illinsterrae popn.lus te recipiat, 
etsicutdominum veneretur, jure ecclesiarum illibato et integro pernianente, et 
salva beato Petro de singulis domibus annua unius denarii pensione. Sane 
omnes insulas, quibus sol justitiae Cbristus illuxit, et quae docuraenta fldei 
Christianas susceperunt, ad jus sancti Petri, et sacrosanctae Romanae ecclesiae 
(quod tua etiam nobilitas recognoscit), non est dubium pertinere. Si ergo 
quod animo concepisti effectu duxeris prosequente complendum, stude gen- 
tem illam bonis moribus informare, et agas tarn per te, quam per illos, quos 
ad hoc, fide, verbo, et vita idoneos esse, perspexeris, ut decoretur ibi ecclesia. 
plantetur et crescat fidei Christianae religio, et quae ad honorem Dei et salutem 
pertinent animarum, taliter ordinentur: ut et a Deo sempiternae mercedis 
curaulum consequi merearis, et in terris gloriosum nomen valeas in saeculis 
obtinere. — Matt. Paris, at a. d. 115G, p. 95. London, 1640. 



104 THE BULL OF ADIILA.N. 

you sJiould invade that island, and do whatever may seem to ad- 
vance the honor of God and the salvation of that land. And let 
the i)eople of that land receive you and venerate you as their lord, pro- 
vided that the rights of the churches shall remain pure and un- 
broken, and that the annual payment of one denarius to blessed 
Peter from every house be made secure. Truly, it is not to be 
doubted that all the islands upon which Christ, the Sun of Justice, has 
shone, and ivhich have received lessons in the Christian faith, are 
SUBJECT TO SAINT PETER AND THE HOLY EOMAN 
CHURCH, as even your own nobles confess. If, therefore, you 
intend to complete the plan you have conceived in your mind, 
aim to teach that nation good morals, and act so by yourself, and 
through those whom you shall deem to be qualified for this work, 
in faith, conversation, and life, that in that land the Church may 
be adorned, and that the Christian religion may be planted, and 
may increase there, and that whatsoever tends to the honor of God 
and the salvation of souls; may be so ordained that you may be 
worthy to receive from God the treasures of an eternal rew^ard ; 
and even on earth that you may secure a glorious reputation 
throughout the ages.'^ 

This Bull is given by Giraldus Cambrensis,* a Romish ecclesi- 
astic of the twelfth century, as well as by Matthew Paris, with 
only a few verbal differences from the version of Paris. Giraldus 
gives five claims which the king of England had upon Ireland, 
the last and strongest of which was the gift of the pope. " Finally," 
says he (Giraldus was with the first English invaders of Ireland), 
" we have the authority of the pope, the prince and primate of all 
Christendom, who claims a sort of especial right in all islands 
^^hatsoever, and that is enough to complete the title, and give it 
absolute confirmation.^^ f Nor was the opinion entertained by 
Giraldus of the pope's power to give Ireland to the English pecu- 
liar to him and his English friends. The papal Bull was solemnly 
accepted at a synod of Irish bishops held in AYaterford, shortly 
after it was issued ; and the entire ecclesiastics of Ireland acknow- 
ledged his Holiness as the absolute master of their island. % At 

* " Conquest of Ireland," lib. ii. cap. 6. f Id., lib. ii. cap. 7. 

X Id., lib. ii. cap. 6. 



\ 



THE BULL OF ADRIAN. 105 

another synod, held in Dublin soon after the convention at Water- 
ford, Vivianus, the papal legate, " made a public declaration of the 
right of the king of England to Ireland, and the confirmation of 
the pope ; and he strictly commanded and enjoined both the clergy 
and the people, under pain of excommunication, on no rash pre- 
tence, to presume to forfeit their allegiance/' * The synod offered 
no objection to the decree of the pontiff: it appeared to be conceded 
by ecclesiastics of all nations, that the Bishop of Rome was master 
of islands and kingdoms, and could bestow them upon any one 
acceptable to himself. 

The Bull of Adrian speaks with great contempt of the Irish 
Church and people. The Irish had been converted to Christ cen- 
turies before, chiefly through the instrumentality of St. Patrick, 
and yet the pontiff describes Henry's proposed invasion as an 
effort to extend ^Hhe boundaries of the Church," that is, the Roman 
Church, whose authority was recognized then for the first time in 
Ireland. Evidently the seeds of vice in the " field of the Lord," 
which Henry w^as to pluck up, were the independence of the 
Church of St. Patrick, and the doctrines or practices in which it 
differed from the Church of Adrian. Henry's proposition to pay 
Peter's pence shows that the Irish had been entirely free from 
papal taxation and jurisdiction down to the hour when English 
soldiers landed in their country, and gave protection to Romish 
legates, and supreme authority to the pope over the entire Irish 
Church. 

To us, in the nineteenth century, it looks singular to see a 
Roman bishop give away an island upon which a standard of the 
Eternal City, Republican, Imperial, or Papal had never been 
planted ; an island to which he had as good a title as he possessed 
to the government of the sun, or to the sceptre of the Almighty. 
We are partially inclined to suppose that the tempter who offered 
Christ all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory, ages later 
presented the same donation to the Roman bishops; and they, 
unlike their Master, immediately accepted the gift, together with 
the conditions prescribed by the assumed owner. 

Adrian seems to have fully believed that the kings of the w^orld 

* "The Conquest of Ireland," by Giraldus Cambrensis, lib. ii. cap. 17. 



106 WORST OPPRESSIONS BORNE BY A NATION. 

received their sceptres by his good-will, and reigned by his pleas- 
ure. A Swedish bishop was held in captivity by German knights 
who had robbed him ; Adrian wrote to the Emperor Frederic, de- 
manding his release, and giving as one reason why he should 
grant his request, that " He had bestowed upon Mm the imperial 
crown.'' * The letter excited the wildest indignation in the Em- 
peror's bosom, and in the diet at Besangon, one of the legates who 
brought the letter. Cardinal Roland of Sienna, on observing the 
excitement produced by the pope's letter, asked in apparent aston- 
ishment : " From whom, then, did the Emperor obtain his govern- 
ment, if not from the pope ? '' f When Frederic was approaching 
Rome, to be crowned by Adrian, he visited the Emperor's camp, 
and as he drew near the royal tent, Frederic did not hold his 
stirrup as his servant, and assist him to dismount. For this 
aifront Adrain refused him the kiss of peace, nor would he be 
reconciled till the greatest prince in Europe, -in the presence of 
his whole army, attended his holiness as equerry — holding his 
stirrup about the distance of a stone-cast. Such was the opinion 
of his greatness cherished by the pope, who, as master of king- 
doms, continents, and islands, gave Ireland to the English, and 
began as the aboriginal Irish suppose 

The worst oppressions ever borne by a nation. 

Without attempting to inquire about the measure of peace and 
happiness which Roderic O'Connor, King of Connaught, Dermot 
Macmorrogh, King of Leinster, O'Ruarke, Prince of BrefPny, 
Oniel, Prince of Ulster, and the other princes of Ireland, and 
their successors, would have given to " The island of saints," we 
shall take it for granted that they would have made their country 
free, happy, wealthy — the glory of all lands. Then it follows, if 
that supposition is true, ivhich is only taken for granted, that at 
the door of Pope Adrian is to be laid all the oppressions, real or 
imaginary, endured by the Irish nation for seven hundred years. 
He, as the vicar of Christ, gave the island to the English, and 
upon his head should the curses of Irishmen, who feel the gov- 
ernment of England a burden and a tyranny, be liberally poured. 

* Neander, vol.av. 164. f Bower's " Hist, of the Popes," vol. ii. 489. 



PAUL IV. MAKES IRELAND A KINGDOM. 107 

Had it not been for Nicholas Brakespeare — Adrian IV. — Ireland, 
to-day, the land where the pope's most loyal friends live, might 
still be ruled by her Roderic O'Connors and Dermot Macmor- 
roghs. A pope destroyed the independence of Ireland. 

Paul IV. makes Ireland a Kingdom. 
The sovereigns of England for ages were only called " Lords 
of Ireland." But Paul IV. has just been seated upon the chair 
of the Fisherman. No mere mortal ever had such extravagant 
ideas of his power ; he can turn this world upside down when he 
wishes ; princes to him are rubbish to be swept from under his 
sacred feet ; he owns all kingdoms ; he is master of all things 
visible, and of many things that cannot be seen. Sarpi tells us 
that this insolent old man never spoke with ambassadors * but he 
thundered in their ears : " That he was above all princes, that he 
did not wish any of them to be too familiar with him, that he 
could change kingdoms, that he was successor of him who had 
deposed kings and emperors. In the consistory, and publicly at 
his table, he declared that he would have no prince for his com- 
panion — he would have princes under his feet (and he stamped 
his foot against the ground), as it is fit, and as it is his will who 
built the Church, and has placed them in that degree." And as a 
Catholic, Mary, has ascended her father's throne in England, 
whose husband is Philip II. of Spain, the most unscrupulous 
Romanist among the living ; as the nation of Henry VIII. is 
knocking at the palace of Paul for the honor of kissing his toe, 
the country of Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley, of Tyndale and 
his Bibles ; where monasteries and nunneries were thrown down, 
and the holy drones who tenanted them were scattered to the four 
winds of heaven to follow useful pursuits ; where sacred images 
were dashed to pieces by the rough hands of unholy mobs ; where 
ribs, sculls, thigh-bones, hands, toes, and pieces of the skin of 
holy virgins, martyrs, and saints were torn from gold and 
silver shrines, and were flung into rivers or obscure graves; 
where relics of the greatest saints of all time were barbar- 
ously outraged ; where the king, a stupid and vile layman, 
had thrust himself into Peter's chair, and declared himself^ 

* Hist. Council of Trent, p. 395. 



108 INNOCENT III. COMPELS JOHN TO SURRENDER CROWN. 

"The head of the Church;'^ where a parliament of mere laymen 
had laid sacrilegious hands on the consecrated property of the holy 
Church ; where men and women of the highest rank and of the 
greatest sanctity had laid down their lives for the Scarlet Lady ; where 
it was supposed that the Catholic religion was forever destroyed ; 
and where yesterday the papal world saw only causes for despair ; — 
as Paul hears of the approach of ambassadors from that country 
coming to offer him the English nation, he is in raptures ; no 
other occurrence on earth could give him such joy, or reflect upon 
him such honor. And as he thinks of some token of regard for 
the daughter of Henry YIII., he finds it in Ireland. Mary 
recognizes that country as a kingdom ; the pope has never bestowed 
that dignity upon it. And in his estimation no sovereign has a 
right to make a kingdom out of a mere lordship ; that is an act 
of flagrant usurpation in the loftiest of our race, unless he wears 
the triple crown. So to exhibit his semi-divine authority, and to 
gratify * " Bloody Mary," he erected the country into a kingdom, 
which Adrian had bartered to Albion for Peter's Pence, and 
enforced obedience to the pontiffs ; and having crowned it with 
royal lionors, he handed it over in chains to the daughter of 
Catharine of Arragon; as if Paul had been the owner of all 
things mundane and celestial, and could exalt or degrade according 
to his imperious pleasure. The proud chieftains, and wild, warm- 
hearted tribes of Ireland in the sixteenth century, owed little 
gratitude to the poj^es. 

Innocent III. compels King John to surrender the Crown of England 
to the Bishops of Rome, 

John was destitute of honesty, truthfulness, courage, chastity, 
respect for human life, or for the good opinion of mankind. He 
was impulsive, irritable, short-sighted, vindictive, and about 
equally free from mental powers and moral qualities. Seldom has 
a baser man occupied a throne. It was his misfortune to be the 
brother of Richard the Lion-hearted, as noble a king as ever 
swayed a sceptre, as brave a soldier as ever drew a sword. The 
contrast between the brothers was highly injurious to John. In- 

* Hume's History of England, ch. xxxvii. 



STRIFE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND ROME. 109 

nocent III. had a master mind ; for keenness of penetration, for 
adapting means to ends, and for concentration of resources on the 
right point, Innocent was not surpassed by any living man. Only 
one of Rome's two hundred and fifty-three popes, many of whom 
had talents of a high order, equalled Innocent in ability. The 
controversy between John and him was like one between an eagle 
and a hawk. At his coronation, Hubert, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, put his elevation to the" throne to the vote, and after the 
assembled bishops, nobles, and others, elected John by crying, 
" God save the king,'' he placed the crown on his head with the 
usual ceremonies. And, on being questioned about his motive for 
departing from the regular custom in adding the election of the 
king to the coronation observances, he replied, that * ^^ he knew 
John would one day or other bring the kingdom into great confusion, 
whereupon he determined that he should owe his elevation to elec- 
tion, and not to hereditary right." 

On the 13th of July, Hubert died, and his vacant see created 

The greatest strife between England and Rome. 

The junior monks of the conventual church of Canterbury 
elected Reginald, their sub-prior, to fill the vacancy ; and as they 
had not obtained the king's consent, they were afraid that John 
would hinder farther proceedings if the election was published ; 
and, to complete the work, in the middle of the night, they 
chanted the Te Deum, and placed him first upon the altar, and 
afterwards in the archbishop's chair. The same night, he started 
for Rome to obtain the ratification of Innocent. 

Soon after, at the suggestion of the king, the monks unanimously 
elected John de Gray, Bishop of Norwich, to the throne of St. 
Austin. The monks inaugurated him, as they had been accus- 
tomed to invest his predecessors with the archbishop's authority. 
The king immediately gave him possession of all the revenue and 
property of his see. 

Not long after. Innocent rejected Reginald, the sub-prior, and 
John de Gray, and, under pretence of an election by certain monks 
of Canterbury, on business in Rome, he appointed Cardinal Stephen 

Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1199. 



110 INNOCENT III. SENDS JOHN FOUR EINGS. 

Langton, an Englishman, who had been long absent from his na- 
tive country, Archbishop of Canterbury ; and commanded the king 
and the monks of Canterbury, under great penalties, to receive 
him as their archbishop. Stephen was a man of superior mind, 
with a character far above the common herd of ecclesiastics in his 
day ; and he loved his country more than he respected even Pope 
Innocent himself. He was one of the most active patriots in se- 
scuring Magna Charta in opposition to the pope's wishes, for which 
Innocent suspended him. 

To appease John at this time, Innocent sent him four rings and the 
following letter : * 

" Pope Innocent III., to John, king of the English, greeting, etc. : 
Amongst the riches of the earth, which the eye of man desires and 
longs for as more precious than others, we believe that pure gold 
and precious stones hold the first place. Although, perhaps, your 
royal highness may abound in these and other riches, however, as 
a sign of regard and favor, we send to your highness four gold 
rings, with divers jewels. We wish you specially to remark in 
these the shape, number, material, and color, that you pay regard 
to the signification of them rather than to the gift. The rotundity 
signifies eternity, which has neither beginning nor end. Therefore, 
your royal discretion may be led by the form of them to pray for 
a passage from earthly to heavenly, from temporal to eternal 
things. The number, four, which is a square number, denotes the 
firmness of the mind, which is neither depressed in adversity, nor 
elated in prosperity ; which will then be fulfilled when it is based 
on the four principal virtues, namely, justice, fortitude, prudence, 
and temperance. In the first place, understand justice, which is 
to be shown in judgment; in the second, fortitude, which is to 
be shown in adversity ; in the third, prudence, which is to be 
observed in doubtful circumstances ; and, in the fourth, modera- 
tion, which is not to be lost in prosperity. By the gold, is denoted 
wisdom ; for, as gold excels all metals, so wisdom excels all gifts, as 
the prophet bears witness : ^ The spirit of wisdom shall rest upon 
him,' etc. There is nothing which it is more necessary for a king 
to possess. Wherefore, the peaceful king Solomon asked wisdom 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1307. 



I 



THE INTERDICT. Ill 

only of the Lord, that, by those means, he might know how to 
govern the people entrusted to him. Moreover, the greenness of 
the emerald denotes faith ; the clearness of the sapphire, hope ; the 
redness of the pomegranate, denotes charity ; and the purity of the 
topaz good works, concerning which the Lord says : ^ Let your 
light shine,' etc. In the emerald, then, you have what to believe ; 
in the sapphire, what to hope for ; in the pomegranate, what to 
love ; and in the topaz what to practise ; that you ascend from one 
virtue to another till you see the Lord in Zion/' 

Innocent thought that these gifts would calm John's anger about 
Stephen Langton, and that the ingenious conceits about ^^ their 
shape, number, material, and color,'' would gratify his wdiimsical 
mind. But it was John who ordered a Jew in Bristol to be cruelly 
tortured to make him give money to the king ; then to have '^ ^' one 
of his cheek teeth knocked out daily until he paid ten thousand 
marks of silver ;" and the process was continued till the poor son 
of Israel lost seven teeth, and paid the demand. And as there 
were other Jews in England with plenty of teeth and money, John 
could do without the papal rings on account of their value. And 
he had no genius to .appreciate the wisdom of the letter accompa- 
nying them. 

The king was in a fury about Langton ; and immediately or- 
dered the Plonks of Canterbury to be driven from their convent, 
and wrote Innocent a letter full of threats and insults, and abso- 
lutely refused to permit Langton to exercise his office in England. 
The conflict now began by the proclamation of an 

Interdict. 

The bishops of Ely, London and Winchester were authorized 
to admonish John, and if that failed, to proclaim an interdict. 
They were outrageously abused and threatened by John, and they 
hurled forth the papal thunders. Immediately all church services 
ceased, except t " The viaticum in cases of extremity, confession, 
and the baptism of children ; the bodies of the dead were carried 
out of cities and towns, and buried in roads and ditches without 
prayers or the attendance of priests." We have not the precise 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1210. f Id., a. d. 1208. 



112 EFFECTS OF THE INTERDICT. 

form of interdict used by Innocent, but it probably differed little 
from the one issued by the Council of Limoges: against the Limosin, 
which was : * 

" Unless they come to terms of peace let all the country of the 
Limosin be put under a public excommunication, so that no per- 
son, except a clergyman, or a poor beggar, or a stranger, or an in- 
fant from two years old and under, be permitted burial, in the 
whole Limosin, or be permitted to he carried to burial in any other 
bishopric. Let divine service be privately performed in all the 
churches, and baptism given to those who desire it. About the 
third hour let the bells ring in the churches, and all pour out their 
'prayers on account of the tribulation and for peace. Let penance 
and the viaticum be granted in the article of death. Let the al- 
tars of all the churches be stripped as in Easter eve, and the crosses 
and ornaments be taken away, as a token of mourning and sad- 
ness to all. Let the altars be adorned at those masses only which 
any of the priests shall say, the church doors being shut; and 
when the masses are done, let them be stripped again. Let no 
one marry during the time of excommunication. ■ Let no one 
qive to another a kiss. Let no one of the clergy or laity, no in- 
habitant or traveller eat flesh or other meat than such as is lawful 
to eat in Lent, in the whole country of the Limosin. Let no lay- 
man or clergy maTi be trimmed or shaved till the censured princes, 
the heads of the people, absolutely obey the Holy Council." 

The Interdict at Work. 
As the interdict came into operation terror spread over the na- 
tion as if a great judgment from God had fallen upon it. Every 
one spoke with a subdued voice, felt as if some unutterable calamity 
was about to desolate the land, and wore a countenance marked by 
awful solemnity. Even cliildren spoke in hushed tones and caught 
the contagion of the general alarm. Nothing could exceed the 
distress of those whose departed friends could not be placed in con- 
secrated ground near the protecting dust of some glorious saint; 
the relics of one of whom gave safety to every Anglo-Saxon church, 
and the dead surrounding it. It is impossible in our age to com- 
prehend the universal horror that prevailed. As the people be- 

* Limborch, p. 274. London, 1816. 



JOHN CONTINUES THE WAR. 113 

held the images of the saints and their precious relics laid upon 
the ground, the altars stripped of their decorations, the bells re- 
moved from the churches, mass celebrated with closed doors for 
the priests only, the use of flesh prohibited, the face unshaved, and 
every expression and form of joy forbidden, they felt as if the 
day of judgment must be at hand, or some other great day of the 
wrath of the Almighty. ^ This interdict lasted more than si^ 
years. 

Perhaps tliere is not in the history of wickedness an act so im- 
pious as the proclamation of an interdict. As if Jesus, who prayed 
on the cross for his enemies, and poured out his blood for more 
persecuting Sauls than the one of Tarsus, could suspend the public 
service of his religion over a whole kingdom, inflicting outrageous 
wrongs upon the living, and sliocking indecencies upon the dead, 
not to punish the sins of the nation, but through the woes and 
cries of the people, to compel the king to receive an archbishop 
whom neither the sovereign nor the nation desired, in defiance of 
law, and simply at the command of a foreign pontiff! Tyranny 
and blasphemous audacity never reached a more vigorous growth 
than in the person of Innocent III. 

John continues the War, 

He confiscated all the property of the clergy, giving them only 
a pittance to support them ; he seized their corn for the public 
use ; he arrested * " the concubines of the priests and clerks, who had 
to ransom themselves at great expense ; ^^ the clergy when travelling 
were robbed on the highways, and could obtain no justice. The 
officers of a sheriff on the borders of Wales brought a robber who 
had murdered a priest to the king, and asked his decision about 
the murderer ; John immediately answered,f " He has killed an 
enemy of mine, release him and let him go.'^ He seized the re- 
latives of the dignified clergy who had fled out of England, and 
cast them into prison and took possession of their goods. 

Through the punishments he inflicted, some of the clergy opened 
their churches for public worship, and in a measure upheld his 
cause. While otliers, either for love of money or justice, did the 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1208. f Id., at a. d. 1209. 

8 



114 INNOCENT EXCOMMUNICATES JOHN. 

same thing, and chief among these was Alexander,* surnaraed the 
Mason. He proclaimed that: '^ This universal scourge was not 
brought on England by any fault of the king.'' He showed that 
the * " Pope had no business to meddle with the lay estates of kings, 
or of any potentates whatever, or with the government of their subjects J^ 
The king gave him benefices and his confidence, and he became a 
man of great note in these troubled times. But the people looked 
upon him and others of his class as wretched apostates unworthy 
of a kind word ; and when in subsequent days Alexander's ene- 
mies deprived him of everything he possessed, the * " multitudes 
regarded him with derision, saying : ' Behold the man who did 
not make God his helper, but put his trust in the magnitude of 
his riches, and strengthened himself in his vanity; let him there- 
fore be always before the Lord, that the recollection of him may 
perish from the earth.' " With these and other reproaches Alex- 
ander and the king's clerical friends were everywhere greeted and 
insulted. 

The thought is suggestive, that in a controversy with the pope, 
in which by law and custom the king of England was right, that 
NEARLY ALL THE CLERGY, AND THE CONSCIENCES 
OF NINE-TENTHS OF THE NATION WENT WITH 
THE PONTIFF. HIS INFLUENCE WAS RESISTLESS. 

Innocent excommunicates the King. 

The interdict for nearly two years had been blasting the social 
happiness, the pecuniary prosperity, and the religious hopes of 
the English people. John had exhibited the greatest contempt for 
the clergy of all ranks, and instead of any disposition to yield, was 
increasing the miseries of all the friends of Innocent in his dominions ; 
and the pope promulgated the sentence of excommunication against 
him. The bishops of Ely, London and Winchester were to proclaim 
the decree in all the conventual churches in the land, that thus * 
" the king might be more strictly shunned by every one.^^ But as these 
worthies regarded flight as the better part of valor, and as the other 
prelates who remained in England, * " through fear of or regard 
for the king, became like dumb dogs, not daring to bark," the 

*Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1309. 



115 

announcement of the pope's curse on John did not receive the 
prescribed solemn publication. Nevertheless, it was soon known 
everywhere, and it became the subject of universal comment. And 
tiad not John been dreaded for his merciless cruelty, he would 
have been forsaken as a child of Satan by his entire kingdom. As 
it was, not a few turned from him in horror. Among these was 
Geoffrey,* Archdeacon of Norwich, an officer of the Exchequer. 
While attending to his duties, he said to his companions : " It is 
not safe for beneficed persons to continue allegiance to an excom- 
municated king," and he retired without asking the king's permis- 
sion. The tidings quickly re?.ched John, who threw him into 
prison, in chains ; ordered a cap of lead to be fastened on him, and, 
overcome by the want of food and the weight of the leaden cap, he 
expired. 

No condition could be more deplorable than the state of the 
nation at this time ; to serve the king in any way was to incur 
the curse of an oppressive pope ; to adhere to the pope was to 
invite imprisonment and death from John. Truly it was not 
comfortable to be placed between these two millstones in motion. 
Still John, as an English king, would not submit to the imposi- 
tions of the Italian priest ; and Innocent proceeded to a more 
high-handed crime by 

Absolving his subjects from their allegiance. 

In the words of the celebrated monkish historian : f " He 
absolved from all fealty and allegiance to the English king, the 
princes, and all others, low as well as high, who owed duty to the 
English crown, plainly and under penalty of excommunication, 
ordering them strictly to avoid associating with him at the table, 
in council, or converseJ^ Truly here is a modest place for a servant 
of Jesus to occupy. He declares broken, the solemn oaths bind- 
ing a nation to its sovereign — oaths whose sanctity could not be 
set aside with impunity from God, by any mortal of all time ; 
and he orders John to be isolated ; no one must sit with him at 
table, act as his adviser, or have anything to do with him, on pain 
of excommunication ; that is, on pain of the greatest calamity on 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1209. f ^^'■> 1313. 



116 INJ^OCENT DEPOSES JOHN. 

earth, and the worst woes of the abyss. And as John perseveres 
in his rebellion 

The pope deposes him from his Crown. 

Says Paris : * " The ]3ope being deeply grieved for the desola- 
tion of the kingdom of England, by the advice of his cardinals, 
bishops, and other wise men, definitely decreed that John, King of 
Englandj should he deposed from the throne of that kingdom, 
and that another, more worthy than he, to be chosen by the pope, 
should succeed him.'' Carrying out this decision, Innocent 
wrote Philip, King of France, ordering him, in remission of 
all his sins, to execute the sentence against John, to expel him 
from the throne of England, and then to take possession of it for 
himself and his successors forever.* What a situation for an 
independent sovereign ! to be hurled from his throne, not by force 
of arms ; not by a decision of law ; not by the votes of his own 
subjects to whom only, under God, he was responsible; not by 
the nations as an enemy to the human race; not by the pope 
speaking for suffering men unable to resist intolerable oppression, 
but by the pontiff claiming, in virtue of his office, authority over 
all kings and commonwealths, and driving John from his throne 
solely because he refused to receive an archbishop of the pope's 
selection, contrary to the laws and customs of his kingdom. And 
what usurpation for the Pope of Rome to select the future King 
of England ! He had just as much right to select wives for all 
the young men of that nation, or to remove all the landowners, 
and bestow their estates upon others. Were the pope to depose a 
President of the United States, and order the King of France to 
come and expel the occupant of the White House, and seize the 
sovereignty of the nation, the act would be no more audacious, no 
more unjustifiable in the light of all just laws and self-evident 
rights. Peter never pretended to dethrone the pettiest prince on 
earth, or to remove the lowest officer of any government. And 
as the " powers that be are ordained of God," it is blasphemous 
presumption for any servant of Christ to overthrow those powers 
by Church authority — by the pretence that the Church or any of 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1213. 




INNOCENT PUBLISHES A CEUSADE AGAINST JOHN. 117 

its members is invested with dominion over the chief magistrates 
whom God has appointed. 

Innocent publishes a Crusade against John. 

He sends letters to the diiferent countries, to nobles, knights 
and warriors, commanding them to go with Philip to remove 
John from his throne. And as in the efforts to drive the Saracens 
out of the Holy Land, the crusaders wore a large cross wrought 
upon their coats, so the pope orders those who go with Philip to 
wear the same sacred sign, as they are " To avenge * the insult 
offered to the universal Church ;" and by this nations were taught 
by the highest authority in Christendom, that John w^as as great 
an enemy to God and his Church as the worst infidel ever driven 
by pious warriors from the localities consecrated by the birth, 
agony, death, and grave of the Son of God. Innocent also prom- 
ised that all who gave money or personal assistance to overcome 
the rebellious king, should, like those who went to visit the 
Lord^s sepidchre, "^ " remain secure under the protection of the 
Church, as regarded their property, persons and spiritual inter- 
ests J^ Innocent put forth every effort to let loose all Europe on 
John, to send every man ambitious of military glory, and every 
zealot anxious for the honor of the Church, and every malefactor 
hungry to have his iniquities blotted out by participation in a 
crusade, and his pockets filled by the plunder of ravaged homes. 
Nor were his efforts vain. 

Philip is willing to execute the Pope^s Sentence. 
He collects an army, regarded in that day as very great ; he 
gathers a fleet of 1700 vessels, of all sizes; and from his personal 
courage and distinguished ability, there is little doubt but that he 
could have conquered John, though he led an army of 60,000 
strong, encamped at Barham Down. 

Pandulph makes an insidious Attack upon John. 
He crosses the sea and visits him, tells him the extraordinary 
preparations which Philip has made, the number of his troops, and 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1213. 



118 JOHN MUST RESIGN HIS KINGDOM TO THE POPE. 

the accessions which daily reach his army. He assures him that, 
as the pope's enemy, when he appeals to the God of battles, the 
Church's God, he is sure to be defeated ; that the banished bishops, 
clergy, and laity, are coming with Philip to obtain their rights and 
their property, and to render him the obedience formerly enjoyed 
by John and his ancestors ; that Philip had pledges of assistance 
and submission from almost all the nobles of England ; that if he 
humbled himself as if he were on his <lying bed, and submitted 
himself completely to the Holy See, the compassionate pontiff 
might restore to him his kingdom ; but that, should he persist in 
his wickedness, all hope was gone ; his enemies would surely 
triumph ! "^ 

Terrified at the prospect of losing his soul through the anger of 
that God whose chief priest, for years, he had resisted ; * afraid df 
the French king, whose countless army was on the coast, ready to 
sail for his dominions, and sure of the probable treachery of his 
nobles should he lead them into battle, most of whose wives,t 
daughters, or property he had injured, he gave up the contest, 
and submitted to nearly everything proposed by Pandulph ; and, 
among the exactions of the legate, there was one which required John 

To resign his crown and hingdoms to the Pope. 
On the 15th of May, 1213, in the house of the Knights Tem- 
plars, near Dover, the English king, in the presence of his nobles, 
" according to a decree pronounced at Mome/^ resigned his crown and 
the kingdoms of England and Ireland into the hands of our lord 
the pope, through Pandulph, the legate.^ He, then, by a formal 
" Charter," as it is called, agreed :* "To assign and grant to. God 
and his holy apostles, Peter and Paul, and to the Holy Church of 
Rome, our mother, and to our lord. Pope Innocent and his Cath- 
olic successors, the whole kingdom of England, and the whole 
kingdom of Ireland, with all their rights and appurtenances, in 
remission of the sins of us and our whole race, as well for those living 
as for the dead, and henceforth we retain and hold these countries 
from him and the Church of Pome as vicegerent, and this we de- 
clare in the presence of this learned man Pandulph, sub-deacon and 



* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1213. f I^^? at a. d. 1213. 



119 

familiar of our lord y the pope And, in token of this lasting 

bond and grant, we will and determine, that from our own income, 
and from our special revenues, arising from the aforesaid king- 
doms, the Church of Kome shall, for all service and custom which 
we owe to them, saving always the St. Peter's pence, receive annu- 
ally a thousand marks sterling money ; that is, seven hundred for 

the kingdom of England, and three hundred for Ireland 

And, as we wish to ratify and confirm all that has been above 
written, we bind ourselves and our successors not to contravene it ; 
and if we or any one of our successors shall dare to oppose this, 
let him, whoever he be, be deprived of his right in the kingdom. 
And let this charter of our bond and grant be confirmed forever.'' 
John declared, in the preamble to the charter, that : " He was im- 
pelled to make this grant (of his kingdom) by the inspiration of the 
Holy Spirit ; that the act was performed, not through fear of the 
interdict, but of his own free will and consent, and by the general 
advice of his barons. What flagrant falsehoods the sub-deacon 
Pandulph put in John's charter and made him sign ! 

When John handed his crown to the legate, and a part of the 
tribute money along with it, he appeared in the character of an 
obsequious vassal. Pandulph was seated upon a throne represent- 
ing Pope Innocent ; John fell on his knees before him, and lifting 
up his joined hands, and putting them within those of Pandulph,* 
he swore fealty to the pope. He placed the tribute at Pandulph's 
feet, who trampled upon the money, as a representation of the sub- 
jection of the kingdom. How it must have made Englishmen 
blush to Avitness such an exhibition of triumphant tyranny, such a 
display of priestly arrogance ! Viewing the whole trouble of In- 
nocent with John, from his refusal to receive Langton down to the 
moment when Pandulph held his crown and danced on his tribute 
money, we are forced to the conviction that Innocent III. was an 
enemy to every government on earth ; that he was one of the most 
grasping despots that ever tried to crush the independence of a 
nation ; and that, if his successors urge the same claims to authority 
over States and kingdoms, the nations are only safe while the pon- 
tiffs are feeble. 

* Hume's History of England, chap. xi. 



120 INNOCENT ABOLISHES MAGNA CHARTA. 

Innocent the enemy of Magna Charta. 

Magna Cliarta, wrung from King John by his barons at 
Runnymede, June 18th, 1215, has protected and expanded, if it 
has not directly given birtlt, to the liberties of England. It 
may be safely affirmed, that the document of Runnymede has done 
more to encourage freedom in all existing nations than any other 
instrument or effort of our race. The heroes of freedom's battle- 
fields, the sages of all time who meditated about liberty, must yield 
the palm for far-reaching and ever-expanding results to the bishops 
and barons of John. Pope Innocent III. issued a Bull condemning 
every step taken to secure the Great Charter, and the immortal 
document itself, in which he says : * "We are not inclined to 
cloak the audacity of so great a display of malice, tending to con- 
tempt of the Apostolic See, and the detriment of regal rights, the 
disgrace of the English nation, and serious danger to the whole 
affairs of the Crucified One, which would certainly be realized un- 
less by our authority all things were revoked which had been 
extorted in such a way from so great a prince, now bearing the 
sign of a crusader, although he himself were willing to observe 
these engagements. We, on behalf of Almighty God, Father, Son 
and Holy Spirit, also by the authority of his apostles, Peter and 
Paul, and by our own, with the general advice of our brethren, 
reprobate and utterly condemn an agreement of this kind, prohibit- 
ing, under a threatened anathema, said king from presuming to 
keep it ; and the barons, with their accomplices, from demanding 
that it should be observed. WE COMPLETELY ANNUL 



* Nos taiitse malignitatis audaciam dissimnlare nolentis in Apostolicse sedis 
contemptum, regiilis juris dispendinm, Anglicanse gcntis opprobrium, et 
grave periculum totius negotii Caucifixi ; quod utique immineret, uisi per 
authoritatem nostram revocarentur omnia, quae a tanto priucipe crucesignato 
taliter sunt extorta, et ipso volente ea servare, ex parte Dei omnipotentis 
Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, autlioritate quoque apostolorum ejus Petri et 
Pauli ac nostra, de com muni fratrum nostrorum consilio, comMOsitionem 
hujusmodi reprobamus penituset damnamus ; subinterminatione anathematis 
prohibentes, ne dictus rex eam observare praesumat, aut barones cum com- 
plicibns suis ipsam exigant observari ; tam cliartam, quam obligationes seu 
cautiones, qufficunque pro ipsa vel de ipsa sunt factce, irritantes penitus et 
cassantes ; ut nullo unqnam tempore aliquam habeant firmitate'm. — Matt. 
Paris, at a. d. 1215, p. 267. London, 1640. 



POPE EXCOMMUNICATES FRIEXDS OF MAGNA CHAllTA. 121 

AND QUASH BOTH THE CHARTER AND THE BONDS 
OR SECURITIES WHICH HAVE BEEN GIVEN FOR 
ITS OBSERVANCE, THAT AT NO TIME THEY MAY 
HAVE ANY VALIDITY." 

Innocent, in the Bnll from which the above is quoted, apj^lies to 
himself the words of the prophets : ^^ I have appointed thee over 
peoples and kingdoms, to pluck up and destroy, to build and to 
plant, cast loose the bonds of wickedness, shake off the oppressor's 
burden ;" and Innocent gives a fair exhibition of his desire to 
pluck up and destroy liberty , and to fasten the bonds of wicked 
oppression upon a nation. There is no ground for surprise when 
we read in the monkish histories that Innocent was stoutly de- 
nounced all over England, and by many viewed as the infamous 
protector of the meanest tyrannies. The world will never forget 
that Pope Innocent III. ANNULLED AND QUASHED 
MAGNA CHARTA. 

Innocent hurls his thunders on the Barons for comjjelling John to 
keep Magna Charta, , 

^' Innocent, bishop, etc., ^ to P. bishop of Winchester, the Abbot 
of Reading, and Master Pandulph, subdeacon of the church of 
Rome, health and the Apostolic benediction. We are very much 
astonished and annoyed that, although our well beloved son in 
Christ, John the illustrious King of England, gave satisfaction be- 
yond what we expected to God and the Church, and especially to 
our brother the Archbishop of Canterbury and his bishops, some 
of these showing no due respect, if any, to the business of the 
holy cross, the mandate of the Apostolic see, and their oath of 
fealty, have not rendered assistance or shown good will to the said 
king against the disturbers of the kingdom, Avhich, by right of do- 
minion, belongs to the Church of Rome, as if they were cognizant 
of, not to say associates in, this ivicked conspiracy ; for he is not 
free from the taint of participation who fails to oppose transgres- 
sors. How do these aforesaid prelates defend the inheritance of 
the Church of Rome ? How do they protect those bearing the 
cross ? (John pretended an intention to become a crusader.) Yea, 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1215. 



\ 

122 FEIENDS OF MAGNA CHARTA DISTUEBERS OF KINGDOM. 

how do they oppose themselves to those who endeavor to ruin the 
service of Christ ? These men are undoubtedly worse than the 
Saracens, since they endeavor to expel from his kingdom, him 
who, it was rather to be hoped, would afford assistance to the Holy 
Land. Therefore, that the insolence of such men may not prevail, 
not only to the danger of the kingdom of England, but also to 
the ruin of other kingdoms, and above all, to the subversion of 
all the matters of Christ, we on behalf of the omnipotent God, 
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and by the authority 
of the apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, lay the 
fetters of EXCOMMUNICATION ON ALL THESE DIS- 
TURBEES OF THE KING AND KINGDOM OF ENG- 
LAND, as well as on all accomplices and abettors of theirs, and 
place their possessions under the ecclesiastical interdict : and we 
most strictly order the archbishop aforesaid and his fellow-bishops, 
by virtue of their obedience, solemnly to proclaim this our sen- 
tence, throughout all England on every Sunday and feastday, 
amidst the ringing of bells, and with candles burning, until the 
said barons shall give satisfaction to the king for his losses and 
for the injuries they have inflicted on him, and shall faithfully re- 
turn to their duty. We also, on our own behalf, enjoin all the 
vassals of the said king, in remission of their sins, to give advice 
and render assistance to the said king in opposing such transgres- 
sorsJ' 

Verily Innocent had a poor opinion of the men who obtained 
Magna Charta, and supported it after securing it. They were 
"Disturbers of the king and kingdom of England,'^ only fitted 
for excommunication — that is, for the tender mercies of the Wicked 
One here, and the worst pains of the pit hereafter. Notwithstand- 
ing this, the patriots of the world will ever rank the barons of 
Runnymede among the greatest benefactors of mankind. 

If Innocent was infallible, as the late Vatican Council decided, 
then it follows that Magna Charta, with the whole British Consti- 
tution built upon it, is dead in law now, and should that country 
ever be restored to the popedom, its liberties would only need the 
application of this law to give them a death-blow. 

As the infallibility of the pope rests on the supposed fact that 
the Holy Spirit guides him, and as that Spirit never changes, it 



POPE EXCOMMUNICATES AND DEPOSES KING HENRY. 123 

therefore follows, that all GKEAT CHARTERS OF FREE- 
DOM ARE OFFENSIVE TO GOD, and that their friends, 
as the authors of such unholy instruments, have fitted themselves 
for expulsion out of the earthly church and the heavenly Paradise. 
The protracted warfare between Innocent and John, and the 
pope and the barons of England, presents an appalling and irre- 
sistible mass of testimony to the offensive doctrine that : " The 
Bishop of Rome claims to be LORD OF THE NATIONS." 

Paul III. excommunicates Henry VIII., and declares his Throne 

forfeited. 

The Bull is very lengthy, and only the more important por- 
tions of it are quoted. It can be seen entire in Bower's " History 
of the Popes : " * 

" Paul, Bishop, the servant of servants of Chi'ist. For per- 
petual memory. 

" We, though unworthy, being placed over all nations, and in 
the seat of justice, by the clemency of him so ordering it, who 
remaineth himself immovable, does in his providence give to all 
things to move in an admirable order. And we, also, according 
to the prophecy of Jeremiah, saying : ' Behold, I have set thee 
over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull 
down, and to destroy, and to throw down, and to build and to plant ;' 
having obtained supreme power over the Icings of the whole earth, 
and over all people. 

" If King Henry, his favorers, adherents, advisers and followers 
shall not effectually hearken to these exhortations and injunctions, 
we declare the said King Henry, his favorers and adherents in- 
capable of absolution ; and as for his counsellors, followers, and 
others culpable in the premises, from our apostolical authority, 
and of our certain knowledge, and out of the plenitude of our 
apostolical power, by the tenor of these presents, and in virtue of 
holy obedience, and under the penalty of the greater exconmiuni- 
cation de facto incurred, and from which they shall not be 
absolved, under pretence of any privilege or faculty, though in 
the form of a confessional one ; no, not w^ith any of the most 
effectual clauses anywise granted by ourselves, or the aforesaid see, 

* Vol. iii. pp. 475-81. Philadelphia, 1844. 



124 KING SUMMONED FOR TRIAL AT ROME. 

and though they should be more than once reiterated. We de- 
clare them incapable of being otherwise absolved than by the 
Roman Pontiff himself, except at the point of death ; and even 
then, if it shall happen that any are absolved who shall afterward 
recover, he shall fall under the same sentence of excommunication , 
except upon his recovery he shall effectually obey these our moni- 
tions and commands. 

" Moreover, we do by these presents admonish those and every 
of them, that we do actually intend, that thereby they should incur 
the crime of rebellion ; ' and as to King Henry, the FORFEIT- 
URE ALSO OF HIS KINGDOMS AND AFORESAID 
DOMINIONS. And as well him as those before admonished, 
we will have it to be understood that they, and every one of them 
de ipso facto, respectively incur the penalties before, and hereafter 
written, if they shall not obey the monitions and commands as 
declared above ; and we do also separately command them, and 
every of them, that King Henry do APPEAR BEFORE US 
IN PERSON, OR BY HIS LEGAL PROXY, and him suffi- 
ciently empowered, within the term of ninety days. But as to 
his favorers, adherents, advisers, followers, and others anywise 
culpable as aforesaid, whether secular or ecclesiastical, and even 
regulars, that they do personally appear before us within sixty 
days, in order lawfully jto excuse or defend themselves with refer- 
ence to the premises, or else to see and hear sentence pronounced 
against them, and every of them by name, whom we admon- 
ish, as it shall be found expedient, to be proceeded against, as to 
all and singular acts, even to a definitive, declarative, condemna- 
tory, and privatory sentence, as well as to an excusatory mandate. 
But if the said King Henry, and others before admonished, shall 
not appear within the said term respectively prefixed them, and 
shall sustain w^ith an obdurate mind the foresaid sentence of 
excommunication for three days, which God forbid, we do aggra- 
vate, and successively reaggravate the said censures, and do declare 
King Henry DEPRIVED OF HIS KINGDOM AND OF 
HIS DOMINIONS aforesaid ; and as well him as those before 
admonished, and every of them, to have incurred all and singular 
the other penalties aforesaid, and that they and all that belong to 
them be eternally exploded by all the faithful. And if, in the 



125 

mean time, he shall depart this life, out of our aforesaid authority 
and plenitude of power, we declare and decree, he ought to 
WANT CHRISTIAN BURIAL. AND WE DO SMITE 
THEM ALL WITH THE SWORD OF ANATHEMA, 
MALEDICTION AND ETERNAL DAMNATION/^ 

No one to obey King Henry on pain of Excommunication . 

^ And further yet, we do absolve and altogether set free from 
the said king and his accomplices, favorers, adherents, and advisers 
and followers aforesaid, however deputed, and from their oath of 
fealty and their vassalage, and from all subjection toivards the 
king and others aforesaid, all the magistrates, judges, castellanies, 
wardens and officials whatsoever of King Henry himself, and his 
kingdom, and all other his dominions, cities, lands, castles, vil- 
lages, fortresses, forts, towns and any other his places ; as also the 
universities, colleges, feudatories, vassals, subjects, cities, inhabit- 
ants ; also denizens under actual obedience to the said king, as 
well secular persons as others, w^ho by reason of any temporality 
recognize King Henry as their superior, and also ecclesiastical 
persons. Moreover, commanding them that under pain of excom- 
munication, they ivholly and altogether ivithdraw themselves from 
the obedience of the said King Henry, and of all his officials, judges 
and magistrates whatsoever, and that they do not 7'ecognize them as 
their superiors, nor obey their commands.''^ 

Henry and his supporters cannot be Witnesses, make Wills, or inherit 

Property, 

" That others, being terrified by their examples, may learn to 
abstain from such excesses, we will and decree, by the same know- 
ledge and plentitude of power as before, that King Henry and his 
accomplices, adherents, counsellors, followers, and other criminals, 
as to the premises, after they have respectively incurred the other 
penalties aforesaid, that they, and also their descendants, from 
thenceforward shall be, and are, accounted as persons infamous, 
and as such shall not be admitted witnesses, nor shall they be 
capable to make any wills and codicils, or other dispositions, nor to 
grant anything, even to those w^ho are jiving, and they arc liercbv 



126 NO ONE MUST HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE KING. 

rendered incapable to succeed to any estate, by virtue of any will 
or testament, or to any person intestate." 

No one must have any social Relations or business Transactions with 
Henry, or his Supporters. 

"And we further admonish all and every, the faithful in Christ, 
under the penalties of excommunication, and other the penalties 
underwritten, that they avoid all the forementioned criminals, who 
have been admonished, excommunicated, aggravated, interdicted, 
deprived, cursed, and damned ; and, as much as in them lies, that 
they cause them to be avoided by all others, and that they have no 
commerce, conversation, or communion luith the same persons, or with 
the citizens, inhabitants, or dwellers, or with the subjects or vassals 
of the cities, lordships, lands, castles, counties, villages, fortresses, 
towns, and places aforesaid, of the said king, in buying, selling or 
bartering, or in exercising merchandise or any business with them. 
And that they presume not to carry or hire, or cause to be carried 
or conveyed, any wine, grain, salt, or any other victuals, arms, 
cloth, wares, or any other merchandise or commodities, either by 
sea in their ships, galleys or other vessels, or by land on mules or 
other beasts belonging to them ; as also that they presume not to 
receive things carried by them publicly, or by stealth, or to aiford 
any manner of assistance, counsel or favor, publicly or privately, 
either by themselves or others, or indirectly, under any false color 
to such persons, which, if they presume to do, they likewise shall 
incur the penalties of the said excommunication, a nullity also of 
the contracts into which they have entered ; and, moreover, the for- 
feiture of their wares, victuals, and of all their goods, so carried, 
which shall be free prize to the captors." 

The Nation must unite for the Expulsion of Henry and Ms Supporters 
by Force of Arms. 
" Furthermore, if the premises notwithstanding. King Henry, 
his accomplices, favorers, adherents, advisers and followers afore- 
said, shall persist in their obstinacy, and if remorse of conscience 
shall not reduce them to a right mind, but they shall confide in 
their own power and arms, we require and admonish, under the 
penalties of the same excommunication, and forfeiture of their goods, 



THE SOLDIEES OF THE WORLD MUST ATTACK THE KING. 127 

which shall be the prey of the captors, as hereafter is approved, all 
and singular, the duhes and mc&'quises, counts, and all others whatso- 
ever, as well secular as ecclesiastical, and also men of the law, actu- 
ally obeying King Henry, that, Avithout delay and excuse, they, 
with force of arms, if need be, expel out of the kingdom and afore- 
said dominions, them, and every of them, and their soldiers and 
stipendiaries, as well horse as foot, and all others whatsoever who 
shall favor them with arms/' 

All fighting Men in other Nations to attack Henry, and drive him into 
Obedience to the Pope. 
" Moreover, we, in like manner, exhort and require, nevertheless 
commanding them, in virtue of their holy obedience, as well as the 
aforesaid as any others, even those that fight for hire, and what- 
ever other persons having under them such as bear arms, either by 
sea or land, that they take up arms against King Henry, his ac- 
'^omplices, favorers, adherers, counsellors, and followers aforesaid, 
so long as they shall remain in the foresaid errors, and in rebellion 
against the Holy See ; and that they persecute them, and every one 
of them, that they MAY FORCE AND COMPEL THEM, 
AND EVERY ONE OF THEM, TO RETURN TO THE 
UNITY OF THE CHURCH, AND TO THE OBEDIENCE 
OF THE HOLY SEE.'' 

The Goods of Englishmen, disobeying the Pope, when seized, belong 

to the Captors ; and their Owners, when they fall into the hands of 

the Pontiff's friends, are to be sold into Slavery. 

"And we, from the same power, knowledge, and authority, do 
grant licence, leave and liberty, to the same persons, of converting 
the same goods, merchandises, money, shipping, commodities, and 
cattle, to their own proper use ; decreeing these presents, all those 
things wholly to pertain and belong to the captors. And the 
persons deriving their origin from the same kingdom and domi- 
nions, or otherwise inhabiting therein, and not obeying our com- 
mands aforesaid, wheresoever they shall be taken, THEY SHALL 
BE THE SLAVES OF THE TAKERS 

" Dated at Rome, at St. Mark, in the year of the incarnation of 
our Lord, 1535. The third of the Calends of September, in the 
first year of our pontificate." 



128 EXCOMMUNICATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

This Bull was to be read in all churches on the ^^ liord's days 
and other festivals, when the greatest number of the people shall 
be assembled.'^ And it was to be published with awful solemnity. 
" The standard of the cross was to be shown, the candles were to 
be lighted, the bells w^ere to be tolling, and then the candles were 
to be extinguished and thrown on the ground and trodden under 
foot." * 

Surely the pontiff who could deprive Henry of his kingdom, 
summon him to Rome to defend himself before the pope, order his 
subjects to expel him from his kingdom, command the warriors of 
other nations to constrain Henry and his supporters to obey his 
holiness, and forbid all men to have anything to do wdth Henry 
in conversation, in trade, in advice, in shov,dng him kindness, is, in 
his own imagination, the master of kings and empires, the lord of 
the world. 

The Excommunication of Queen Elizabeth. 

When Elizabeth ascended the throne of England, she wrote to 
Sir Edward Carne, f the English Ambassador at Rome, to notify 
his holiness of her accession to the throne. But Paul told the 
ambassador that England was a fief of the Holy See, that Eliza- 
beth had no right to assume the crown without his permission, that 
she was not born in lawful wedlock, and could not therefore reign 
over England, and that her safest course was to renounce all claims 
to the throne, and submit herself entirely to his will, then would 
he treat her as tenderly as possible. But if she refused his advice 
he would not spare her. She declined it, and his hatred was genu- 
ine. So was the dislike of each successor of Paul during her 
reign. Sixtus V. promised J Philip II. of Spain a million of scudi 
to aid in equipping his " Invincible Armada,'^ to destroy the 
throne of Elizabeth, and the only conditions he made in the be- 
stowment of his gift were that, " He should J have the nomination 
of the English sovereign, and that the kingdom should be a fief 
of the Church." The Armada came to the coasts of England 

* Bower's History of the Popes, vol. iii. p, 480. 
•f Hume's History of England, chap, xxxviii. 
if Ranke's History of the Popes, vol. i. p. 517. 



EXCOMMUNICATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 129 

freighted with strange instruments of torture * to cure the heresies 
of the subjects of Elizabeth, and with papal benedictions; but the 
storms of heaven, and the valor of Protestants, sent the boastful 
fleet to destruction on the coasts of Spain, never again to trouble 
Elizabeth. 

Rome seldom hurled a fiercer excommunication than that 
launched by Pius V. at this queen, a woman with the intellect of 
a hundred ordinary kings ; but papal thunders then were nearly as 
harmless as they are now, and yet, as a specimen of the Pomish 
system, it ought to be inserted here : 

" Pius, t bishop, servant to the servants of God ; for a perpetual 
memorial of the matter. 

" I. He that reigneth on high, to whom is given all power in 
heaven and in earth, committed one holy Catholic and Apostolic 
Church, out of which there is no salvation, to one on earth, namely, 
to Peter the prince of the apostles, and to Peter's successor, the 
Bishop of Rome, to be governed in fullness of power. Him alone 
he made prince over all people and all kingdoms, to pluck up, des- 
troy, scatter, consume, plant and build, that he may retain the faith- 
ful that are knit together with the bond of charity, in the unity 
of the spirit, and present them spotless and unblamable to their 
Saviour. In discharge of which function, we, who are, by God's 
goodness, called to the government of the aforesaid Church, do 
spare no pains, laboring with all earnestness, that unity and the 
Catholic religion, W'hich the Author thereof hath for the trial of 
his children's faith, and for our amendment, suffered to be exer- 
cised with so great afflictions, might be preserved incorrupt. 

" II. But the number of the ungodly hath gotten such power, 
that there is now no place left in the w^orld, which they have not 
assayed to corrupt wnth their most wicked doctrines. Amongst 
others, Elizabeth, the pretended queen of England, a slave of wick- 
edness, lending thereunto her helping hand, with whom, as in a 
sanctuary, the most pernicious of all men have found a refuge ; this 
very w^oman having seized on the kingdom, and monstrously 
usurping the place of the supreme head of the Church in all Eng- 

* Ideal's History of the Puritans, i. 393. Dublin, 1755. 
f Bower's History of the Pop; s, vol. iii. pp. 482-3. 
9 



130 EXCOMMUXICATIOX OF QUEEX ELIZABETH. 

land, and the chief authority and jurisdiction thereof, hath again 
brought back the said kingdom into miserable destruction, which 
was then nearly reduced to the most Catholic faith and to good 
order. For having by strong hand inhibited the exercise of the 
true religion, which ^Nlary, the lawful queen of famous memory y 
had by the help of this see restored, after it had beeji formerly 
overthrown by Henry VIII., a revolter "therefrom, and following 
and embracing the errors of heretics ; she hath removed the royal 
council, consisting of the English nobility, and filled it with ob- 
scure men, being heretics, hath oppressed the embracers of the 
Catholic faith; hath placed impious preachers, ministers of iniquity , 
and hath abolished the sacrifice of the mass, prayers, fastings, the 
distinction of meats, a single life, and the Catholic rites and cere- 
monies ; hath commanded books to be read in the whole realm, 
containing manifest heresy and impious mysteries and institutions, 
by herself entertained and observed, according to the prescript of 
Calvin, to be likewise observed by her subjects ; hath presumed 
to throw bishops, parsons of churches, and other Catholic priests 
out of their churches and benefices, and to bestow them and other 
church livings upon heretics, and to determine of church causes ; 
hath prohibited the prelates, clergy and people to acknowledge the 
Church of Rome, or obey the precepts and canonical sanctions 
thereof; hath compelled most of them to condescend to her wicked 
laws, and to abjure the authority and obedience of the Bishop 
of Rome, and to acknowledge her to be sole lady in temporal and 
spiritual matters, and this by oath ; hath imposed penalties and 
punishments on those who obeyed not, and exacted them of those 
who persevered in the unity of the faith, and their obedience afore- 
said ; and hath cast the Catholic prelates and rectors of churches 
into prison, where many of them, being spent with long languish- 
ing and sorrow, have miserably ended their lives. 

" III. All which things, seeing they are manifest and notorious 
to all nations, and by the gravest testimony of very many so sub- 
stantially proved, that there is no place left at all for excuse, defence, 
or evasion ; we seeing that impieties and wicked actions are mul- 
tiplied one on another, and moreover, that the persecution of the 
faithftil, and affliction for religion, groweth every day heavier and 
heavier, through the instigation and means of said Elizabeth; 



EXCOMMUNICATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 131 

because we understand her mind to be so hardened and indurate, 
that she hath not only condemned the godly requests and admoni- 
tions of Catholic princes concerning her healing and conversion, 
but also hath not so much as permitted the nuncios of this see to 
cross the seas into England; are forced of necessity to betake 
ourselves to the weapons of justice against her, not being able to 
mitigate our sorrow, that we are constrained to take punishment 
on one to whose ancestors the whole state of Christendom hath been 
so much bounden. 

" IV. Being therefore supported with his authority, whose pleas- 
ure it was to place us, though unequal to so great a burthen, in 
this supreme throne of justice, we do, out of the fullness of our 
apostolic power, declare the aforesaid Elizabeth being a heretic, 
and a favorer of heretics, and her adherents in the matter afore- 
said, to have incurred the sentence of anathema, and to be cut off 
from the unity of the body of Christ. 

^^And moreover, we do declare her TO BE DEPRIVED 
OF HER PRETENDED TITLE TO THE KINGDOM 
AFORESAID, AND OF ALL DOMINION, DIGNITY, 
AND PRIVILEGE WHATSOEVER, And also the nobility, 
subjects, and people of the said kingdom, and all others who 
have, in any sort, sworn to her, TO BE FOREVER AB- 
SOLVED FROM ANY SUCH OATH, AND ALL MAN- 
NER OF DUTY, DOMINION, ALLEGIANCE AND 
OBEDIENCE ; as we also do by the authority of these presents 
absolve them, and do DEPRIVE THE SAME ELIZABETH 
OF HER PRETENDED TITLE TO THE KINGDOM, 
and all other things above said. And we do command and inter- 
dict all and every the noblemen, subjects, people and others 
aforesaid that they 'presume not to obey her or her monitions, 
mandates, and laics ; and those who shall do the contrary, we 
do innodate with the like sentence of anathema. And because 
it were a matter of too much difficulty to convey these presents to 
all places wheresoever it shall be needful, our will is, that the 
copies thereof, under a public notary's hand, and sealed with the 
seal of an ecclesiastical prelate, or of his court, shall carry alto- 
gether the same credit with all people, judicial and extrajudicial, 
as these presents should do, if they were exhibited or showed. 



132 THE POPE ABOVE ALL KINGS. 

" Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the incarnation of 
our Lord 1570, the fifth of the Calends of May, and of our 
popedom the fifth year." 

Had the power of Pius V. been equal to his extravagant 
claims, Elizabeth would have been driven from her throne to 
obscurity, or an untimely and cruel death, the brightest page in 
British history would have been torn out, the England of to-day 
might have been like modern Spain, a country splendid in memo- 
ries of the past, but for the time being clothed in rags, steeped in 
ignorance, and covered with a dense cloud of superstition. While 
North America, the glorious daughter of Britain, instead of 
standing forth a miracle of light and progress, unmatched in the 
history of our race, would have appeared like Mexico, a country 
of beggars, bandits and priests, with the richest resources, and the 
most restless and improvident population that ever wasted the 
bounties of a generous climate and soil. But fortunately for the 
nations, happily for the liberties of the Avorld, the "Virgin 
Queen," notwithstanding her undoubted defects, had a hold on 
the English heart which the pope and all his allies could not 
shake; and her triumph over her enemies not only made her 
strong, but overwhelmed them with confusion and disg^race. 

That the Pope is above Kings is the JDodrine of the great Ex- 
pounders of Papal Rights, 

Sixtus V. was probably as well informed about the claims of 
the Bishop of Rome as any of his predecessors or successors ; and 
on the 22d day of March, 1590, he told Olivarez, the ambassa- 
dor of Philip IL, that " The pope is appointed by God as THE 
SUPERIOR* OF EVERY OTHER SOVEREIGN." Inno- 
cent IV., in the Council of Lyons, July 16th, 1245, issued a 
decree against Frederic, Emperor of Germany, in which he says : f 
"We hold on earth THE AUTHORITY OF OUR LORD 
JESUS CHRIST, and we do hereby delare the above- 
named prince, who has rendered himself unworthy of the honors 
of sovereignty, and for his crimes has been deposed from his 

* Ranke's History of the Popes, vol. ii. p. 28. 
t Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1345 



POPE GREGORY VII. DEPOSES HENRY IV. 133 

throne by God, to be bound by his sins, and cast off by the Lord, 
and deprived of all his honors, and we do hereby sentence and 
deprive him, and all who are in any way bound to him by an 
oath of allegiance, we forever absolve and release from that oath, 
and by the apostolic authority, strictly forbid any one from obey- 
ing Mm, or in any tcay ichatever attempting to obey him as Em- 
peror or King ; and we decree that any who shall henceforth o;ive 
him assistance or advice, or show favor to him as Emperor or King, 
shall be ipso facto excommunicated ; and those in the empire upon 
whom the election of an emperor devolves, MAY FREELY 
ELECT A SUCCESSOR IN HIS PLACE.'^ And such was 
the reverence with which this act was regarded that the German 
princes elected Henry, landgrave of Thuringia, to the throne from 
which Innocent had expelled Frederic, and at his death, William, 
Count of Holland. 

Gregory YIL, with a rare grandeur of intellect, a towering 
ambition, a daring spirit, an unrivalled power of penetration, ex- 
hibits the claims of the popes in the boldest light. He thunders 
forth : * " For the dignity and defence of God's holy Church, in 
the name of Almighty God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I 
DEPOSE FROM IMPERIAL AND ROYAL ADMINIS- 
TRATION, King Henry, son of Henry, some time Emperor, 
who too boldly and rashly hath laid hands on thy Church ; and I 
absolve all Christians subject to the empire from that oath whereby 
they were wont to plight their faith unto true kings ; for it is 
right that he should be deprived of dignity who doth endeavor to 
diminish the majesty of the Church. 

" Go to, therefore, most holy princes of the apostles, and what I 
said, by interposing your authority, confirm ; that all men may 
now at length understand, if ye can bind and loose in heaven, that 
ye also can upon earth TAKEAWAY AND GIVE EMPIRES, 
KINGDOMS, AND WHATSOEVER MORTALS CAN 
HAVE : for, if ye can judge things belonging unto God, what is 
to, be deemed concerning these inferior and profane things ? And 
if it is your part to judge angels, who govern proud princes, what 
becometh it you to do toward their servants ? Let kings, now, 

* "Pope's Supremacy," by Isaac Barrow, p. 7. New York ed., 1845. 



134 TERHITORIES GIVEN AWAY BY POPE ALEXANDER VI. 

and all secular princes, learn by this man's example, what ye can 
do in heaven, and in what esteem ye are with God ; and let them 
henceforth fear to slight the commands of holy Church ; but put 
forth suddenly this judgment, that all men may understand that, 
not casually, but by your means, this son of iniquity doth fall from 
his kingdom." 

Gregory declared that kingly and papal government might be 
compared to the sun and moon.* The pope's government is like 
the sun, filling the world with its power and glory ; the dominion 
of monarchs is like the moon, diminutive in its light, and derived 
exclusively from the mighty sun of the ^^ Seven Hills." His doc- 
trine is : " That royal authority is ordained of God, and should 
remain mthin its proper limits, SUBORDINATE TO THE 
PAPAL POWER, WHICH I^ SOVEREIGN OYER 
ALL. " 

Gregory put forth prodigious efforts to persuade the sovereigns 
of Europe that their kingdoms were fiefs of St. Peter, and that 
they owed obedience to the Roman pontiff, his successor ; and, 
with boundless zeal and commanding eloquence, and, we must add, 
undoubted sincerity, he tried to subject the entire f affairs of kings 
and chief magistrates, and the concerns of the whole world, to a 
congregation of bishops meeting annually at Rome, of which, of 
course, he was to be master. His celebrated Dictates claimed 
power for the popes such as Jehovah alone possesses. 

One is inclined to smile when he reads that Alexander VI., who, 
as vicar of Christ, owned all countries inhabited by infidels, gave 
to the crown of Castile the territories of all unbelievers which its 
servants should discover and subdue. And, lest this grant might 
conflict with his " deed of gift " to the Portuguese, he decreed that 
a line, supposed to be drawn from pole to pole, a hundred leagues 
westward of the Azores, J should serve as a boundary between them. 
In the exercise of his world-wide sovereignty, he gave the coun- 
tries east of this line to Portugal, and those west of it, to Spain. 
^' In 1254, the pope," says Matthew Paris, § " gave the kingdom of 



* Neander's Hi t. of the Cliist. Relig. and Cli., vol. iv. p. 88. Boston. 

t Mosheim. London ed., 1848, p. 360. 

X Robertson's "America," p. 65. New York ed., 1829. 

§ Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1254. 



THE POPE GIVES SICILY TO EAEL RICHARD. 135 

Sicily to Earl Richard ; but Earl Richard told Albert, his legate, 
that, ^ unless the pope would give hostages from his own family as 
security for his good faith, aid an expedition with money, and de- 
liver up some of his frontier fortresses to protect his army in case 
a retreat was necessary, his gift looked very much as if some one 
said : I give or sell you the moon ; climb up and take it/ " The 
gift of Alexander bore the same features, and showed the same 
presumption. 

But the claims of the bishops of Rome to universal temporal 
monarchy plunged all Europe, at various times, into confusion, 
and large parts of it into carnage. It would require volumes in- 
stead of a few pages to exhibit the bitter fruits produced by these 
usurpations. 

If the Master said : " My kingdom is not of this world,'^ the 
Church of Rome is governed by another spirit ; for, during eleven 
hundred years, her bishops have held an earthly sceptre, and 
struggled, like the conqueror of Darius, for an empire bounded 
only by the limits of the globe ; a monarchy in which kings are to 
be tolerated as papal viceroys, and nations are to be treated as de- 
pendent nurslings ; chastised with a scourge, or rewarded with a 
smile, at the pleasure of the Holy Father. 

These arrogant pretensions have never been recanted; and as 
the renunciation of one of them would prove the Roman Bishop 
a fallible mortal like the rest of us, not one of them shall ever be 
surrendered until the papacy is in ruins. And though masses of 
enlightened Catholics may repudiate and denounce them, they are 
still in the heart of the Romish creed ; and, as in the past, they 
will live in the future history of the Catholic Church when an 
opportunity offers for their exhibition. Infallibility cannot 
change for the better ; it can never admit the necessity for its own 
reformation. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

As this ecclesiastical legislature has a wider reputation and in- 
fluence in the Church of Rome than any convention of prelates 
known to history, and as it interests Protestants more than any 
assemblage of Catholic bishops ever called together, a brief sketch 
of the synod is indispensable to the completeness of this work. 
The Council of Trent acted on the baseless assumption that 

The Holy Spirit directed its Decisions. 

In the fifteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles there is an 
account given of a consultation between the apostles and elders 
about circumcision in its bearings upon Gentile converts. The 
conference ended in a decree which was introduced in these words : 
^^ It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, to lay upon you no 
greater burden than these necessary things/^ The apostles, of 
course, were inspired men, qualified by the Spirit of God to write 
Scripture, and give infallible decisions about everything pertaining to 
the government and instruction of the Church of God. From this 
record of the proceedings of inspired apostles at Jerusalem, Romish 
ecclesiastics have found the doctrine that their uninspired bishops, 
convened in a General Council, are led by the Holy Spirit in 
everything ; and, as a result, that their decrees are the decisions of 
the Fountain of Wisdom, incapable of error, and invested with 
perpetual force. Acting upon this conviction, the decree of a 
General Council, for ages, begins thus: "The sacred and holy 

OEcumenical and General Synod of , lawfully assembled, in the 

Holy SpiritJ' There is no more authority for the assumption that 
the Comforter leads a Catholic Council to right conclusions because 
136 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 137 

he discharged this office for the apostles, than there would be to 
imagine that he would enable it to make Holy Scripture whenever 
a synod tried its hand at writing " Revelations/' because he gave 
this power to the apostles. Nothing has made great synods look 
more ridiculous than this, even in the opinion of some Catholics. 
At Trent, the idea that the Spirit governed the council was a 
standing joke with many of the Avitty fathers. As nothing could 
be done without orders from Rome, it became a common proverb 
among the bishops that : * " The synod was guided by the Holy 
Spirit, sent thither from time to time from Rome in a cloak-bag." 
The Bishop of " Five Churches," one of the leading men in the 
synod, declared that : f " The Holy Spirit had nothing to do in 
that assembly ; that all the counsels given there proceeded from 
human policy, and tended only to maintain the pope's immoderate 
and shameful domination ; that answers 'were expected from Rome 
as from the oracles of Delphos and Dodona ; that the Holy Spirit, 
which they boast doth govern their councils, was sent from thence 
in a postilion's cloak-bag, which, in case of any inundations, could 
not come thither (a thing most ridiculous), until the waters were 
assuaged. So it came to pass that the Spirit was not upon the 
waters, as it is in Genesis, but by the waters. Oh, monstrous, ex- 
traordinary madness ! " 

The Causes which led to the Galling of the Council of Trent 

The court of Rome, in the early part of the sixteenth century, 
was flagrantly corrupt. No language could be too strong to de- 
scribe its falsehood and treachery, and its accursed love of money, 
its sumptuous extravagance, its loathsome licentiousness, its fierce 
despotism, and its unrelenting cruelty. Its turpitude was known 
over the world, and shocked the moral sense of all Christian na- 
tions ; so that, wherever the name of Jesus was breathed with 
reverence, there was one universal demand, that there should be a 
reformation in the Church, in its head and in its members. Princes 
were disquieted on their thrones by these demands ; popes shook 
in the chair of the Fisherman as they rung in their ears ; and all 
Europe felt the first vibrations of a coming earthquake, that would 

Sarpi, p. 497. \ Id , pp. 841-2. 



138 THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

sliake, and eventually overturn, the throne of the Man of Sin, and 
give an impetus to liberty and intelligence that would reach the 
ends of the earth, and the limits of the empire of* time. St. Bernard 
writes to Pope Eugenius : " Your court receives good men, but 
makes them not : lewd men thrive there ; the good pine and fall 
away." This statement was true to the letter of the court of 
Clement VII. Indeed his predecessor, Adrian VI., admitted that 
" the mischief proceeded from the court of Rome and the ecclesias- 
tical order," which had provoked Germany, and excited heart- 
burnings in all Christian countries. Dante, in his visit to the 
infernal regions, represents himself as seeing a pope in a part of 
hell where exquisite torture was inflicted, of whom he says ; 

He a new Jason * shall be called ; of whom 

In Maccabees we read ; and favor such 

As to that priest his king indulgent showed, 

Shall be of France's monarch shown to him. 

I know not if I here too far presumed, 

But in this strain I answered : Tell me, now, 

What treasures from St. Peter at the first 

Our Lord demanded, when he put the keys 

Into his charge ? Surely, he asked no more, 

But follow me ! Nor Peter, nor the rest, 

Or gold, or silver of Matthias took. 

When lots were cast upon the forfeit place 

Of the condemned soul.f Abide thou there ; 

Thy punishment of right is merited ; 

And look thou well to that ill-gotten coin, 

Which against Charles:): thy hardihood inspired. 

[f reverence for the keys restrained me not, 

Which thou in happier days didst hold, I yet 

Severer speech might use. Your avarice 

O'ercasts the world with mourning, under foot 

Treading the good, and raising bad men up. 

Of gold and silver you have made your god, 

Differing wherein from the idolater. 

But that he worships one, a hundred you ? 

Ah ! Constantine, to how much ill gave birth, 

Not thy conversion, but that plenteous dower 

Which the first wealthy Father gained from thee." § 



* Jason offered 360 talents of silver, and of another revenue 80 talents, to 
Antiochus Epiphanes, for the high priesthood. — 2 Maccab., iv. 7, 8. 

t Judas, t King of Sicily. § Carey's Dante. N. Y. ed., 1853., pp. 145-6. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 139 

Such, in Dante's day, was the common opinion among thinking 
men about several popes. The conviction grew stronger towards 
the sixteenth century ; and, in its first half, the universal remedy 
for these evils w^as a general council. As Luther commenced his 
great work, the papal system, the work of ages, and the pride of 
millions, tottered to its underworld foundations, the wildest excite- 
ment rolled over Europe ; a vast upheaval threatened to overturn 
German thrones, and the foundations of society in that land. Its 
princes, Diet and emperor, time and again, demanded a council, and 
other countries united in the urgent appeal. Clement VII. is 
frightened by the cry. He is of illegitimate birth, a stain which, 
in his day, was regarded as a disqualification for Peter's chair. 
And he is charged with securing the popedom by unhallowed 
means. A general council might depose him, as Constance 
served John XXIII. But he is compelled, in 1531, to promise i« 
synod which he never intended to gather. At first, Mantua is tho 
proposed place of meeting for the council, then Piacenza. But, as 
in either place the synod would be wholly at the mercy of the pon- 
tiff, the Germans made resistance, and insisted that it should be 
held in their country. There was, however, no council till Clement 
was in his grave. After an agitation running over many years 
and all Christendom, it was at last decided by Paul III. to call a 
council. 

Those who were invited to the Council. 

Paul summoned all patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, abbots, and 
those who, by privilege, should appear in a general synod ; also, 
the emperor, king of France, and all other kings, dukes and 
princes ; and, should they be unable to appear in person, they were 
to send representatives. 

The council was most anxious to have the Protestants repre- 
sented in it ; and, to induce them to appear at its meetings, it sent 
them several safe-conducts, whose proferred protection they obsti- 
nately refused. They demanded that it should be held in Ger- 
many; that the bishops should be released from their oath of 
obedience to the pope ; that he, neither in person nor by legates, 
should preside in the council ; and that, if they came to it, they 
should be entitled to vote as well as to deliberate ; and, failing 



140 THE COUNCIL OF TEENT. 

to secure these requisites of justice, they utterly refused to take any 
part in the discussions of the approaching great synod. The 
council met December 13th, 1545, at 

Trent 

Trent is in the southern part of the Tyrol, on the left bank of 
the Adige, in a beautiful valley, surrounded by lofty hills. It is 
nearly fifty miles north of Verona. It is an Austrian possession. 
Its cathedral was commenced in the beginning of the thirteenth 
century, and it is a fine architectural work. The Church of Santa 
Maria Maggiore stands on the site of the structure in which the 
Council of Trent held its meetings. 

The Synod. 

Its presiding officers were the legates. Cardinal John Maria de 
Monte, Cardinal Marcellus Cervinus, and Cardinal Reginald Pole. 
Paul III. gave these cardinals their positions. 

At the session held on the 7th of January, 1546, there were 
present, beside the legates and the cardinal of Trent, four arch- 
bishops, twenty-eight bishops, three abbots and four generals of 
religious orders. Of the archbishops, two were titular, that is 
bishops without flocks. One of these was Robert Yenante, a 
Scotchman, Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland, who, though near- 
sighted, had a splendid reputation in Italy as the ^^ best post-rider 
in the world.'^ These two bishops had lived for years on papal 
alms, and they gratefully came to Trent to vote for their benefac- 
tor's measures. 

Only the ambassador of the king of the Romans was present a1 
the first session. At a later period every state of any note belong- 
ing to the Catholic Church was represented by secular ambassa- 
dors in the synod, who made speeches in that body, and took an ac- 
tive part in its affairs. What a scanty delegation of bishops to 
legislate for the universal Church in a general council. 

The modes of transacting Business adopted by the Council. 

A special congregation or committee was appointed to examine 
every question, and frame decrees for the general congregation, in 



THE COUNCIL OF TEENT. 141 

which all were free to express their sentiments, and fit the subject 
under discussion for formal proclamation as a decree or canon. A 
session was the meeting when the perfected work received the 
final vote, and the solemn sanction of the synod as a part of the 
code of the Catholic Church. 

In a congregation the prelates wore caps ; in a session they ap- 
peared with mitres in all the pomp of episcopal dignity. 

The right of speaking in the synod in 1551 was given to the 
pope's representatives first ; the emperor's spoke next ; the bishops 
of Lou vain sent by the queen next ; after them the divines who 
came with the electors ; secular clergymen in the order of their 
promotion next ; and after them the friars. 

The bishops of the council were a jury ; inferior clergymen were 
the lawers who made speeches ; and after their addresses had ex- 
hausted the debate, the bishops were generally ready to vote. Of 
the powerful and learned speeches delivered in the synod, few 
came from the bishops. 

The council decided that the Holy Scriptures might be quoted 
as authorities, the traditions of the apostles, the decisions of coun- 
cils, constitutions, the authority of popes and holy fathers, and the 
consent of the Catholic Church. 

The Position of the Pope in the Council of Trent 

The pontiffs watched the deliberations of the synod with un- 
wearied vigilance ; they viewed its every movement with unhid- 
den jealousy. They used every effort manly and mean to regulate 
its entire affairs, insignificant and important. If any father was 
troublesome, means must be used to keep him quiet. If fearless 
bishops at any time Avere too numerous, good prelates, w^ho would 
speak and vote as they were instructed, came speedily from Rome 
or from some other part of Italy. If the council became con- 
scious of their manhood and their episcopal rank, the synod was 
threatened with suspension or removal ; or the council was dis- 
banded for. a time; or it was transferred to some Italian city 
where the pope was all powerful, or where the persuasive elo- 
quence of an adjacent inquisition would suggest submission to 
papal dictation. 



142 THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

Every bishop in the Council of Trent at his consecration had to 
take this oath : ^^I., N. C.^* bishop, will henceforward bear true faith 
to St. Peter, and to the holy apostolic Roman Church, to my lord 
the Pope N. and his successors, who shall enter canonical ly. I 
will not be a means, either by word or deed, that he may lose 
either life or member, or be taken prisoner ; I will not reveal any 
counsel he may impart unto me, either by letter or message which 
may be any way damageable to him ; I will help to defend and 
maintain the papacy of the Church of Rome against all the world, 
and the rules of the holy fathers." 

Each bishop in the synod of Trent was bound hand and foot 
by this oath, to obey the successor of St. Peter. And the pontiff 
sent orders to his legates who presided over the council, about the 
business which was to be pushed forward, or that which was to be 
excluded, and nothing was formally discussed which had not his 
approval. He was master of the entire deliberations of Trent. 

He used Sacred Bribes and Holy Jests. 

To make his authority undoubted he employed ecclesiastics, who 
watched every father at the synod : at the head of these men, for 
some time was Simoneta, the confidential manager of the council 
for his Holiness. Simoneta, with other agents, employed a number 
of needy bishops who could jest soberly, and by provoking inde- 
pendent men, make them look ridiculous, while they remained 
unmoved themselves. These artful operators often broke up con- 
gregations of the synod by their sober jokes at the expense of 
worthy bishops. By their sarcastic interruptions and sneering 
criticisms at the conclusion of an opposition address, they often 
created the greatest confusion and, secured the adjournment of a 
debate which was becoming troublesome to the friends of the pon- 
tiff. And as the hirelings of Simoneta were numerous and needy, 
and as his funds were regularly and largely replenished from 
Rome, he could silence most opponents, or so tarnish their reputa- 
tion or orthodoxy by private slanders, that their influence was 
destroyed. 

* Bishop Jewell's Letter on the Council of Trent. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 143 

In 1563, * the Emperor Ferdinand wrote Pius IV. to give 
liberty to the council, of which it had been deprived by three 
causes : first, everything must be managed at Rome before being 
presented to the synod ; the second difficulty was, that only the 
presidents could make propositions in the council; and the last 
was, that prelates bent on the pope's glory rendered their brethren 
powerless. This difficulty was occasioned by the grave jesters 
who aided the holy spirit which guided Catholic councils to reach 
proper conclusions. It can be easily seen that a council whose 
members were bound to the pope by solemn oaths, whose pro- 
positions must all come from his legates, and whose bishops 
were bribed, browbeaten, or ridiculed, was a mere expression of 
the pope's will. 

One of the Decrees of Trent, f 

'' That the memory of paternal incontinency may be banished 
as far as possible from places, consecrated to God, which purity 
and holiness most especially become, it shall not be lawful for the 
sons of clerks, who are not born from lawful wedlock, to hold, in 
those churches, in which their fathers have, or have had an eccle- 
siastical benefice, any benefice whatsoever, even though a different 
one, nor to minister in any way in the said churches, nor to have 
pensions out of the fruits of benefices which their fathers hold, or 
have at another time held. And if a father and a son shall be 
found, at this present time, to hold benefices in the same church, 
the son shall be compelled to resign his benefice, or to exchange it 
for another out of that church, within the space of three months ; 
otherwise he shall, by the very fact, be deprived thereof.'' A law 
in any Protestant church forbidding the sons of its clergy, horn out 
of lawful wedlock J to enjoy a benefice jointly with their fathers, 
would have a ring of iniquity too loud and clear to be misap- 
prehended. 

Controversies in the Council, 

Men differed in opinions, in feelings, and in proposed acts. 

* Sarpi, p. 683. 

t Canones et Decreta Cone. Trid., Deer, de Reform., cap. 15, sess. xxv. 
p. 200. Lipsise, 1863. 



14-1 THE COUNCIL OF TEENT. 

And not a few instances of apparent harmony were but compul- 
sory submissions. 

The cup excited a deeply interesting and prolonged discussion in 
Trent. It may be safely asserted that three-fourths of the Catho- 
lics in Europe were in favor of having it given with the bread. 
And this preponderance was nearly as great among the clergy as 
among the laity. In 1562, the ambassador of the Duke of 
Bavaria, in the council, demanded the cup for the laity in the 
name of his master, declaring that Paul III. had granted it to 
Germany ; and he insisted in a spirit of honest earnestness that it 
should not be refused. The ambassadors of the Emperor Ferdi- 
nand about the same time presented a paper to the council, in which 
they declared, that there were Catholics in Hungary, Austria, 
Moravia, Silesia, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria, Bavaria, Suevia, and 
other parts of Germany, w^ho desired the cup with great zeal. In 
Hungary, said they, " They force the priests to give them the 
cup by taking away their goods, and threatening to kill them f 
and in manly words they appealed for the chalice given by Jesus 
to all. The legates themselves were strongly inclined to yield to 
the appeal, and grant the cup to Germany. Pius IV. was equally 
disposed to gratify one of the most popular desires that ever 
agitated the Catholic Church. Nor was Charles IX., King of 
France, a whit less anxious for the cup than the Catholic Em- 
peror and princes of Germany : with him and his people the desire 
amounted to a passion, and on many occasions it was urged with 
vehemence on the bishops at Trent. The Council of Constance, 
in 1414, had first changed the character of the Supper, by keeping 
back the chalice : the date was too recent, and the change too 
senseless to make the people calm, when another council gave 
them an opportunity to restore the honored forms of other days. 
Against the change, the talented but unscrupulous party who 
governed the council, urged that if the Holy Spirit guided coun- 
cils, he ruled at Constance, and it would be impiety to reverse 
the decree he inspired there ; besides, they said, many demands 
were made, and if the synod began to yield, it would be difficult 
to find a stopping place. They brought in Scripture in abundance 
to support their positions ; they instanced the case in St. John, 
where it is said : ^' He that eateth this hread shall live forever f 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 145 

they pointed to the disciples going to Emmaus, who only knew 
Jesus in the breaking of bread, not in the drinking of wine : 
to St. Paul, ready to suffer shipwreck, who blesses bread, but 
speaks not of wine ; to the Lord's Prayer, in which daily bread is 
asked without any allusion to wine ; to the manna which repre- 
sents the eucharist, and yet has no drink in it ; to Jonathan, who 
tasted the honey, but did not drink. James Payva, a Portuguese 
declared that when Christ gave the bread to his disciples first, 
they were all laymen, but when he ordained them priests, in these 
words : " Do this in remembrance of me,'' he then gave them the 
cup. And the cup was therefore only for priests, while the bread 
was for all. Another argued in the council that " the cup being 
the blood of Christ might fall on the ground, or hang on the 
beard of a layman ; that the vessels to hold it would not be kept 
clean, and that giving it to a layman would make him the equal 
of a priest." But reasons of this character weighed little ; and 
when the discussion was exhausted there were three opinions, 
one that it should not be granted, another that the cup should 
be permitted with conditions, and still another that it should be 
referred to the pope. And " fifty * of the most intelligent persons 
in the synod maintained that the cup should be conceded with 
some cautions." And when the question was to be decided, it 
was found that it could not receive the number required to pass it 
as a doctrine, it could only receive the vote needed for a decree of 
reformation. It was a maxim in Trent, that " a decree of faith 
could not be made if a considerable part contradicted ; but to estab- 
lish a decree of reforraation, a major part of voices was suffi- 
cient." And the cup resolution, though recognized as an article 
of faith, f owing to the impossibility of passing it in its true 
character for lack of requisite votes, was introduced as a decree of 
reformation, and by this artifice it became the permanent law of 
the Catholic Church, and a lasting insult to Jesus. 

Claims of the Clergy over Secular Affairs. 

Perhaps the most exciting controversy in the Council of Trent 
was aroused by the presentation of certain articles giving the 

* Sarpi, p. 559. f Id., p. 576. 

10 



146 THE COU:S'CIL OF TKENT. 

clergy supremacy in many affairs purely civil. * One of these 
articles declared that ecclesiastical persons should not be judged 
in a -secular court ; another, that the civil magistrate shall not 
interfere in any spiritual case, such as one about matrimony, 
heresy, patronage, benefices, tithes, ecclesiastical fees, temporal 
jurisdiction of churches, and other cases civil, criminal, or mixed, 
belonging to the Ecclesiastical Court ; another, that laymen shall 
not appoint ecclesiastical judges; another declares that the eccle- 
siastical judge shall be free from secular authority in imposing or 
revoking excommunications, in summoning whom he will, and in 
pronouncing sentence of condemnation on him, and in having 
officers to execute it ; another forbids the Emperor, or any other 
prince, to interfere with ecclesiastical causes or persons by edicts, 
or otherwise, and commands all sovereigns to lend the secular 
arm to execute ecclesiastical decisions ; another declares that the 
letters, citations and sentences of ecclesiastical judges, especially 
of the Court of Rome, shall be immediately executed by all rulers 
without any consent from the civil authorities. These articles, no 
doubt, contained the sentiments of three-fourths of the fathers at 
Trent. In many countries, the articles had been laws at work for 
centuries, if not fully developed, at least in a modified form. But 
they raised an immense commotion in every court in Europe, and 
most of all in Catholic courts. The ambassadors at Trent, were 
indignant at their presentation, and took the earliest occasion to 
denounce them. 

De Ferrieres, f one of the ambassadors of France, among other 
things, told the council, that their proposed reforms of princes 
were not the plaster of Isaiah, to heal the w^ound, but of Ezekiel, 
to make it raw, though healed before ; that these additions of 
excommunications and curses, were without example in the ancient 
Church ; that their articles had no other aim than to take away the 
liberty of the French Church, and offend the majesty of the most 
Christian kings, who, by the example of Constantine, Justinian, 
and other emperors, have made many ecclesiastical laws. He 
said, the king marvelled at two things : one, that they, the fathers, 
adorned with so great ecclesiastical power, assembled only to 

*Sarpi, p. 769. t Id., P- 773-3. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 147 

restore church discipline, not regarding this, should bind them- 
selves to reform those whom they ought to obey, though they 
were stiff-necked ; another, that they should think they can and 
ought, without any admonition, excommunicate and anathematize 
kings who are given by God to men, which ought not to be done 
to any ordinary man, though persevering in a most grievous 
offence. He said that Michael, the archangel, durst not curse the 
devil, and yet they were wholly conversant with maledictions 
against kings, and against his sovereign, if he will defend the laws 
of his ancestors, and the liberties of the Galilean Church. He 
told them that the king desired the council not to decree anything 
against those laws ; and his ambassadors to oppose such decrees as 
he did then oppose them. Afterwards, speaking not for the king 
but himself, he invoked heaven, earth and the fathers to consider, 
whether the king's demands were just; whether it were honest for 
them to make orders for themselves throughout the whole world ; 
whether this was a time to take compassion, not upon the church, 
nor upon France, but upon themselves, their dignity, reputation, 
and revenues, which cannot be preserved but by the arts by which 
they were first obtained ; that in so great confusion they must be 
wary, and not cry when Christ comes, " SEND US INTO THE 
SWINE ;'' that if they would restore the Church to its ancient repu- 
tation, and compel the adversaries to repentance, and reform princes, 
they should follow the example of Hezekiah, who did not imitate 
his father, nor his first, second, third, or fourth grandfather, who 
were imperfect, but went higher, to the imitation of his perfect 
ancestor ; so the council must not look to its next predecessors, 
though very learned, but ascend as far as Ambrose, Augustine, 
and Chr}^sostom, who overcame the heretics, not by arming princes 
for war, lohile they sat picking their nails at home, but by prayers, 
a holy life, and sincere preaching. For the fathers, becoming 
like these ancient worthies, wiil make princes to become Theodosii, 
Honorii, Arcadii, Valentin ianii, and Gratiani, which he hoped for, 
and would praise God if it should be so. 

The oration stirred up a perfect tempest in the sacred breasts of 
the assembled clergy. It was assailed publicly and privately 
with all kinds of weapons. But its author was sustained by the 
combined monarchs of Europe, for whom he was scourging the 



118 THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

insolence of the council ; and both he and his hearers knew well 
that he had the keen intellect and the material resources which 
fitted him to defy them. The subject was discussed at great length, 
and then was allowed to fall into an untimely grave. No spirit 
guided the Council of Trent but the unholy spirit of cunning, ty- 
ranny, worldliness, obsequiousness, and superstition. Little wonder 
that the witty French made a proverb : That the modern council 
has more authority than that of the apostles, for its own pleasure 
only was a sufficient ground for its decrees, without admitting the 
Holy Spirit. 

Numbers and Character of the Council. 

In 1546 the council was composed of five cardinals and forty- 
eight bishops. * It was at this time it issued its famous decrees 
about the scriptures, giving inspired authority to apocryphal writ- 
ings and uncertain traditions ; and authenticity or superiority over 
all other copies of the word of God to the Vulgate, a mere version, 
and one so full of errors that the council itself had to appoint a 
committee of six to correct it ; and restraining men in their proper 
liberty to discover its meaning. 

Among the prelates in the council at this time, there was no 
E:an " remarkable for learning, * some were lawyers, perhaps 
learned in that profession, a few divines, but of less than ordinary 
merit, the greater number were gentlemen or courtiers. As to 
their dignities, some were only titular, and the greater part bishops 
of such small cities, that if each one represented his people, it could 
not be said that one in a thousand of Christendom was represented. 
And from Germany at this time there was not one bishop or di- 
vine.'^ 

In the sixth session, which issued the decrees on justification, 
there were present four cardinals, ten archbishops, and forty-seven 
bishops ; f in the thirteenth, which defined transubstantiation, there 
were four legates, six archbishops, and thirty-four bishops ; in the 
last session there were, according to Labbe and Cossart, seven 
legates, two cardinals, three patriarchs, thirty-three archbishops 
and two hundred and thirty-seven bishops, besides eleven proxies. 

* Sarpi, 163. f Perceval on the Roman Scliisin, p. 9"5. 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 149 

Of these about tivo-thirds were from Italy, the rest, with few ex- 
ceptions, from France and Spain. These Italian bishops and the 
natives of Italy wearing titular dignities, were all the mere crea- 
tures of the pope, and through them the council was constantly 
in the power of the holy father. 

At the close of the proceedings of the council, * according to 
the authoritative report of its doings, four legates, two cardinals, 
three patriarchs, twenty-five archbishops, one hundred and sixty- 
eight bishops, seven abbots, thirty-nine proctors of absent prelates, 
and seven generals of religious orders, subscribed with their own 
hand the decrees of the council. The number, notwithstanding 
this statement, at the last meeting of the council, is not to be fully 
credited. But that most of its sessions were very slenderly at- 
tended, and that the attendance was made up of men of limited 
attainments and ability, is undoubted. Even Paul IV. said scorn- 
fully of the council if "It was a great vanity to send into the 
mountains sixty bishops of the least able and forty doctors of the 
most insufficient, as was twice done already (1556), and to believe 
that by those the world could be better regulated than by the 
vicar of Christ aided by his cardinals, prelates, and doctors at 
Eome." 

The Bishop of Five Churches, in a letter to the Emperor Maxi- 
milian, says of the Council of Trent : { ^' What good could be 
done in that council in which the votes were not weighed but 
numbered ? If goodness of cause and reason had been the weapons, 
though w^e were but few, we had vanquished a great army of our 
enemies. The pope had a hundred for one, and in case that were 
not sufficient, he could have created a thousand. We daily saw 
hungry and needy bishops come to Trent ; youths, for the most 
part, who just began to have beards, given over to luxury and 
riot, hired only to give their voices as the pope pleased. They 
Avere unlearned, and simple, but supplied with impudent boldness. 
When these were added to the pope's old flatterers, iniquity tri- 
umphed, and it was impossible to determine anything but as they 
pleased. 

^ Canones et Decreta Concilii Tredentini, p. 208. Lipsise, 1863. 
I 2arpi, p. 399. t ^^m, 841. 



150 THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

" There was a grave and learned man, who was not able to bear 
so great an indignity, and as he made the fact known, he was 
traduced as not a good Catholic, and he w^as terrified, threatened 
and persecuted that he might approve things against his will. 
Matters were brought to this pass by the iniquity of those who 
came there, fitted and prepared, that the council seemed to consist, 
not of bishops, but of disguised maskers, not of men but of 
images, such as Dedalus made, that moved by nerves which were 
none of their own. They were hireling bishops, who, as country 
bagpipes, could not speak but as breath was put into them. The 
Holy Spirit had nothing to do in this assembly.'^ Such is the tes- 
timony of a man of great power, truth and observation. And 
yet this council, composed of such materials as it was, gave their 
present cast to all the doctrines and usages of the Catholic Church. 
These youthful bishops were no doubt titular prelates, bearing the 
name of an eastern diocese, and performing no episcopal acts ex- 
cept voting at the Council of Trent. S 

The Pontiffs iclio Reigned during the Sessions of the Council. 

These were Paul III., Julius III., and Pius IV. The coun- 
cil first assembled in 1545, and after several prorogations, and 
some protracted intermissions, it finally adjourned in 1563. 

InfMence of the Council, 

It exerted for centuries, and it enjoys still, the greatest power 
ev^er springing from any assembly of ecclesiastics. The iworld is 
more familiar with its name than with the insignificance of its 
membership ; and it is remarkable that such a body should stretch 
long and vigorous arms over the gulf of time since its dissolution, 
and over all the Catholic countries of the world, and hold the 
entire papal nations in its powerful grasp. Several causes con- 
tribute to this result : the first is the profound reverence entertained 
for councils in the Catholic Church. In several Protestant communi- 
ties there are ecclesiastical legislatures who make authoritative 
enactments for the government of their churches, but such laws 
are regarded, even by those who make them, as wise or unwise, ac- 
cording to the principles embodied in them. But a Catholic coun- 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 151 

cil, constituted in proper form, is believed to be an ^^ Inspired 
Asseinbly/^ speaking by the promptings of the unerring Jehovah, 
whose decisions are the revealed will of the Lord of all, which 
ought not to be questioned, and can never be repealed. As the 
clergyman who addressed the Council of Trent, when Mascarenius 
the Portuguese ambassador was received, said: * ^' The authority of 
councils is so great that their decrees are to be received as divine 
oracles." Such is the general doctrine of the Catholic Church. 
And this view of councils gave great force to the decrees issued at 
Trent. The second was the extensive range of the council in the 
adoption of new articles of faith. The synod received every sanc- 
tified folly, almost without exception, revered in any quarter of 
the Romish communion, as a tenet of the Church ; and in this way 
gained a wide extent of favor. Another reason was the able 
management of the council by the pontiffs, who selected the 
shrewdest strategists of the entire papal Church and employed them 
to direct the decisions of the council. Another reason is found in 
the extraordinary deference paid by the bishops of Rome to the 
canons and enactments of Trent. The fifth reason why the Coun- 
cil of Trent became such a potent power in the papal Church is to 
be found in the condition of Catholicism when the council held 
its meetings. The Reformation, like an earthquake, had shaken 
and shattered the Romish world, and burst the ties which bound 
the system together, its old mighty ties of force and terror ; and it 
compelled the council to give a new shape to nearly all her ancient 
doctrines ; and such a cast as would fit them to bear the most 
searching scrutiny. As worn out rails are rolled again, and after 
the process come forth totally unlike their former ground, ragged, 
rusty selves: so in the foundery at Trent, through canons, decrees 
and the Catechism, the old rails of the Romish system were rolled 
over again, and some of them received a greater thickness; some 
of them an altered shape, and all of them new and additional 
sleepers, to sustain without injury the thundering trains of the 
great Reformation. 

The Church of Rome before the Council of Trent was like a 
tower built of stones from many ancient structures. A great many 

» Sarpi's History of the Council of Trent, p. 477. London, 1629. 



152 THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

came from Solomon's temple, and quite a number from the build- 
ings adjoining the manger in Bethlehem; some jagged rocks were 
placed upon the tower that once formed a part of a temple of Mo- 
loch ; not a few stones from a temple of Jupiter ; and a block of 
marble beautifully sculptured from a temple of Venus. Cement 
made from the rock of Calvary, well crushed, and bitumen from 
the Dead Sea joined the stones together. The tower was strong, 
and a source of terror to the world. Lightning from Wittemburg 
struck it fiercely several times and burned off the roof, exposing 
the inmates to the pelting fury of the storms, and so shattering the 
walls that the fathers at Trent, thinking it was going to tumble to 
pieces, carefully took down the tower and rebuilt and greatly en- 
larged it. They put in every old stone, carefully placing it in a 
new position ; they procured new materials from the walls of the 
Sorbonne, the graves of St. Bernard, Thomas Aquinas, Duns 
Scotus, Peter Lombard, Gregory YIL, and Innocent III., from 
the battlefields of Judas Maccabeus, and from nearly every quarter 
of the world. They made the many window sashes and doors 
out of the wood of the true cross and the nails with which the 
Saviour was fastened on it. Each one of its many hundred guards 
imagined that he carried the identical spear with which the soldier 
pierced the Saviour's side, and every one of them wore some gar- 
ment which belonged to the Saviour or his mother ; the tower was 
intended to reach heaven, and was indeed a very lofty structure; 
it was designed as a home for the heroes who should conquer the 
world. As we have seen a school-house once, whose walls, on 
close inspection, showed angel figures, a sculptured Holy Spirit, 
several saints, the plunder of an ancient neighboring nunnery : so, 
on closely examining this massive tower, you easily detected re- 
presentations in the stones of Moses, Aaron, Levi, a Jewish altar 
and sacrifice, a censer, Judas Maccabeus making an offering for 
his dead soldiers, the virgin and child, Jupiter, Venus, Moloch, 
the Angelic Doctor, the Master of the Sentences, and other scho- 
lastic divines by the hundred, and saints and angels without num- 
ber, with an occasional scene from purgatory. The architecture 
was a mixture of all orders ; the building was of all shapes, and the 
careful observer could easily see above its main doorway its name : 
BABEL, CONFUSION. While on its corner stone were cut the 
\\ords : BuUi by the fathers of Trent, after designs sent from Rome. 



BAPTISM. 

During the period beginning with the commencement of the 
fourth century, and ending with the sixth, baptism was commonly 
administered twice in the year, at Easter and Pentecost. 

Preliminaries of Baptism, 

There were three classes of sponsors generally employed during 
this period for three distinct lists of persons ; one sponsor became 
surety for an infant, anotlier for an adult, and a third for a person 
of deranged or defective intellect. In each case, the sponsor was 
bound to look after the religious welfare of his charge : even the 
sureties of adults " were their curators and guardians, bound to 
take care of their instruction before and after baptism." * 

The baptized w^ere anointed with oil, from head to foot, before 
receiving the sacred rite. This ceremony signified, in that day, 
the unction of the Holy Spirit, and grafting into the Olive Tree, 
Christ Jesus. It also denoted that celestial chrism, which qualified 
Christ's earthly wrestlers for heroic struggles with the j)Owers of 
evil. 

The bishop breathed upon the candidate for baptism after he 
had been exorcised to expel demons, to indicate the gift of the 
Spirit to be conferred. 

He touched his ear, saying : " Ephpliatha (^lark vii. 34), Be 
opened; may God send, thee an open understanding, that thou 
may est be apt to learn and to answer.'^ 

In north Africa, after signing candidates with the cross, the 
bishop gave them a portion of consecrated salt. 

* Bingham's Antiquities, book xi. chap. 8, ss. 1-8. 

153 



154 CEREMONIES AFTER BAPTISM. 

Just before the baptism was administered, the candidate faced 
the west, the supposed region of diabolical and dark influences, and 
then, by his sponsor or personally, he renounced Satan with his 
works and pomps, his service, his angels, his inventions, and all 
things that owe or render him obedience. This renunciation was 
commonly repeated three times, the speaker stretching out his 
hands, and striking them with horror, and spitting, in defiance of 
the Wicked One, in the direction in which his power was supposed 
to be exercised. Then, facing the east, the region of the rising 
sun, the quarter in which Eden, the type of the heavenly paradise, 
was planted, the candidate vowed to live ever after in obedience to 
the laws of Christ. After this, a solemn profession of faith was 
made in the articles of a gospel creed, with the eyes directed 
towards heaven. Such was the custom which continued at Rome 
and elsewhere, for a great while, in defiance of opposition. The 
baptism was administered after these observances.* 

Ceremonies immediately after Baptism. 

When the candidate was baptized, his forehead, ears, nostrils and 
breast, were anointed with holy chrism. 

White robes were placed upon him, to show that he was washed 
in the blood of the Lamb, and meant to keep himself unspotted 
from the world. 

Lighted tapers were placed in his hands, as emblems of the 
lamps of faith, with which virgin souls go forth io meet the divine 
bridegroom. 

The kiss of peace was always given to the babe or adult just 
baptized, to show the perfect reconciliation with God now 
enjoyed. 

Milk and honey were imparted to the baptized, to teach that, as 
babes in Christ, they required as simple food, of a spiritual kind, 
as natural infants needed of a material sort. 

The ingenuity of the early fathers was sorely taxed to discover 
some new ceremony to add to the dignity of baptism, to make it 
more imposing and glorious in the estimation of men. 

* Bingham's Antiquities, book xi. chap. 7, ss. 8, 



MIRACULOUS POWEES OF BAPTISM. 155 

The Effects of Baptism, 

Nothing in all earthly history ever wrought such prodigies as 
baptism at this period was supposed to accomplish. It removed 
the taint of original sin, blotted out actual transgressions, made 
the baptized as innocent as an angel, gave him a new heart, and 
bestowed upon him an outfit for heaven so perfect that it was 
imagined that the best time to die was just after being baptized. 
How early these heresies appeared in the churches it is somewhat 
difficult to settle. Justin Martyr uses the word regenerate about 
baptism in a way that looks in the direction of baptismal regene- 
ration. The passage is : * " They who are persuaded and do be- 
lieve that those things Avhich are taught by us are true, and do 
promise to live according to them, are directed first to pray and ask 
of God with fasting the forgiveness of their former sins ; and we 
also pray and fast with them. Then we bring them to some place 
where there is water, and they are regenerated, according to the 
manner of regeneration by which we were regenerated.^^ Possibly, 
Justin may have used this word regenerate in a figurative sense ; 
but the probabilities are not favorable to that opinion. Evidently 
he attached an amount of importance to baptism unknown to 
Christ or his apostles. 

Tertullian, a little later, expresses the doctrine of baptismal re- 
generation in terms as vigorous and unscriptural as any Romanist or 
ritualist could possibly employ; nay, they could not wish their 
sentiments more explicitly asserted. His words are : f " We 
fishes, after the name 'ixQ^s of our Lord Jesus Christ, are horn in 
the water J^ The word 'ix^v^ is an acrostic made of the first letter 
of the following names of Jesus in Greek : 'ij^aouj Xptcrrd?, Qiov 'Ttoj, 
2qt'*jp, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour. And it means, 

xai ^syofjLfva, dvai, xaC f5t,ovv oxii'toj dvvaaOat, vrtioxv'^vto.i, svxsadat ts xal 
al-tilv vvjatsvovtsi Ttapd 7:01) Of ov tu)V Tiporj/xaf^ti^ulvcov a^saiv, StSartJcoi^r'at, 
Tjixuiv avvfv%oixsviov xal avvvo^ativovfi^v avtoti. ETteita ayovtat v^' rjficov 
tfSa -u^wp tatal, xal -fpoTiov avayevvriasco^ ov xal 'rjfxsi^ aitol av£ysvvrjOr^/ji.sVf 
ava/yivvCiVTat,. — Apol. i. sec. 61. 

f Sed nos pisciuli secundum 'i;^^vi/ nostrum Jesum, in aqua nascimur. — Be 
Bapiismo, cap. i. 



156 BAPTISM WASHES OUT ALL SIN. 

a fish. From this name, a fish became as common a symbol among 
the early Christians to indicate their faith as a crucifix is among 
the adherents of Rome in our times. We are born in the water, was 
a leading view of baptism, cherished by great and good men like 
Augustine, Chrysostom, and Ambrose. This doctrine springing up 
in the latter half of the second century, swept over Christendom, 
and left scarcely a trace of dissent in its pathway of triumph. 

Baptism washes out all Sin. 

From the third century down to the Reformation, except in a 
few isolated communities, baptism was the grand fountain of soul- 
cleansing. It was believed to contain the whole forgiving power 
of Father, Son and Spirit. And it was imagined that heaven 
could never be entered without it. 

On this account many put oif baptism till death threatened 
them, that their iniquities might be removed as the King of Ter- 
rors carried them into the land of spirits. And when an earth- 
quake vibrated, or a pestilence, or a deadly war threatened, the 
clergy -were besieged, and their utmost powers * were tasked to 
administer baptism to frightened thousands, whose faith in the 
liquid deity was unbounded ; and who were resolved to render no 
service to Jesus till the sceptre of death seemed likely to strike 
them. 

The Emperor Valens raised an army to drive back the insolent 
Goths who had crossed the Danube, and invaded Thrace, which 
he intended to lead in person. And as he reflected upon the 
risks of battle, he concluded he ought not to hazard his life with- 
out the protection of " divine grace,'^ and that he ought to secure 
" the complete armor of God by means of the holy rite of bap- 
tism.^' And the intelligent Greek historian who records the trans- 
action, says : f " This was a wise and prudent reflection." Eudox- 
ius baptized him, and with his soul washed by water, as he 
foolishly imagined it to be, he supposed himself ready for battles 
with their savage havoc and huge graves. A foolish faith in the 
power of water to cleanse the polluted souls of men was universal. 

* Neander's Hist, of the Christian Religion, ii. 320. Boston, 1870. 
f Theodoret's EccL Hist., lib. iv. cap. 12, 13. 



BAPTISM WASHES OUT ALL SIN. 157 

And it was believed that it gave a far more complete purification 
to hearts than it ever gave to hands or garments. 

Many sick persons were baptized in their beds from the third 
to the sixth century. This was called clinic baptism, from the 
Greed word x-Kwri^ a bed or couch. It met with much oppposition, 
but as even this sort of baptism was supposed to take away all 
sin, it was freely resorted to in cases where the disease threatened to 
prove fatal. Novatus, "^ of Rome, enjoyed the application of 
water in this way {Ttipix^Q^vtix)^ when it was imagined that he was 
at the point of death, and his future career as the founder of a new 
sect of Puritans, opposed to some of the customs of the churches 
in his day, brought his baptism into notoriety and disrepute. But 
he believed that it gave him a full outfit for the " Shining Shore,'' 
at a time when he supposed that he was leaving the earth. 

In A. D. 253, a council of sixty-six bishops sat in Carthage, with 
Cyprian at its head. To this council Fidus, a rural bishop, pre- 
sented by letter two questions for solution ; one about Victor, a 
presbyter, and the other a query, asking how soon after birth a 
babe might be baptized; and suggesting that it should never 
receive the sacred rite till after the eighth day, as it would not be 
pleasant to give it the kiss of peace before it was eight days old. 
Cyprian and the council say to him in reply, among other things, 
" Therefore, most dear brother, this was our opinion in the coun- 
cil, that no one should be hindered by us from baptism and the 
grade of God, who is merciful, kind and affectionate to all ; which 
rule, as it holds for all, so we think it more especially to be ob- 
served in reference to infants and persons newly born, to whom 
our help and the divine mercy are rather to be granted, because at 
their first entrance into the world, by their weeping and wailing, 
they do no other thing than implore compassion.'' Cyprian pro- 
ceeds to give his rustic brother a little information, by saying : 
" Whereas you assert that an infant, the first days after its birth, 
is unclean, so that any of us abhors to kiss it, we reckon that this 
ought to be no impediment to giving it celestial grace; for it is 
written, ^ To the clean all things are clean.' .... Though an 
infant is fresh from the womb, yet is it not such that any one 

* Eccl. Hist, of Eusebius, lib. vi. cap. 43. 



158 

should be horrified to kiss it, in giving grace, and in making (the 
kiss of) peace." 

One of the reasons for the baptism of a child, before it is eight 
days old, in this letter is, that Elisha stretched himself upon the 
dead son of the Shunamite, in such a manner that his head, face, 
limbs, and feet were applied to the head, face, limbs, and feet of 
the child, showing a certain equality between a child and a man, 
in features if not in stature, and this equality, Cyprian argues, is 
intended to show that the soul of a child and of a man are of the 
same stature, dimensions, and needs, that all souls are alike and 
equal ; and then he proceeds to infer, that if the weightiest sin- 
ners are not kept from baptism and grace, " How much ^ less 
reason is there to refuse an infant, who being newly born, has no 
sin, except that as a descendant of Adam, after the flesh, he has 
from his very birth contracted the contagion of the death an- 
ciently threatened, y/ho comes for this reason the more easily to 
recive the remission of sins, because the mi^ forgiven him are not his 
own ; they were committed by others/' 

This doctrine about baptism inspired the same false hopes 
everywhere which it lighted in the hearts of Cyprian and his 
fellow bishops at Carthage. It took away the iniquities of the 
strong man burdened with guilt, and when the young were 
brought to its saving water, it removed the stains and curse of 
Adam's sin. 

The words of Peter on the day of Pentecost, " Eepent, and be 
baptized every one of you for the remission of sins," tended largely 
to nourish this heresy ; and, among the ancient fathers, they were 
commonly understood to link forgiveness and baptism together. 
In Matt. iii. 11, John the Baptist says: "I, indeed, baptize you 
with water unto repentance" (ft? .ucravotav). The word unto is properly 
into. John did not baptize these persons to procure repentance ; 
he baptized them into a profession of repentance which they 
claimed to possess. It is said in the same chapter that " Jerusalem 

* Quanto magis prohiberi nou debet infans, qui recens natus nihil peccavit, 
nisi qnod, secundum Adam carnaliter natus, contaginm mortis antiquse prima 
nativitate contraxit ? qui ad remissam peccatorum accipiendam hoc ipso 
facilius accedit, quod illi remittuntur non propria, sed aliena peccata. — 
Cypr. Up. 59, ad I-idum, p. 80. Colonise, 1617. 



BAPTISM DOES NOT TAKE AWAY SIX. 159 

and all Jadea, and all the region round about Jordan, were bap- 
tized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.^' Matt. iii. 5, 6. They 
were penitent, and they were baj^tized, not for the purpose of ob- 
taining a change of heart, but into a profession of the sorrow for 
sin which they already felt. Peter's words, translated " for the 
remission of sins '' (f^? a^^aLv d^aprtwr) are literally " into the re- 
mission of sins,'' a saying exactly like John's, and they mean 
" into a profession of the forgiveness of sins already enjoyed 
through penitential faith." 

Christ gave the woman who washed his feet with her tears a 
full pardon, without the slightest allusion to baptism. Luke vii. 
47. He forgave the paralytic man let down through the roof of 
the house into his presence without any reference to baptism, and 
as he does not save through two instrumentalities, faith alone 
grasps the Captain of our Salvation, and gives everlasting salva- 
tion to the soul. 

The passage in John iii. 5, " Except a man be born of water and 
of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," was un- 
derstood universally by the fathers of the third century, and their 
successors for many ages, as teaching the magical efficacy of bap- 
tism in regenerating souls. If the words " kingdom of God " 
mean the Church in this world, there is considerable unanimity in 
receiving the doctrine that the birth of the Holy Spirit and the 
baptismal birth are necessary to church membership. But if these 
words mean heaven, then the birth of water cannot be baptism ; 
for, doubtless, there are myriads in heaven who never received that 
ordinance. The words, " Born of water and of the Spirit," de- 
scribe the new heart given by the Divine Comforter when a man 
first repents of his sins, and the floods of pardoning grace which 
immerse the man born of the Spirit, and, carrying away all his 
sins, assure him of God's love. In this way only can any one 
share in the blessings of God's kingdom, either here or hereafter. 

MODERN EOMISH BAPTISM. 

The middle ages made few changes in baptism. The Emperor 
Charles the Great commanded the archbishops of France to inform 
him what instructions they and their suffragans gave the priests 



160 CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT AND BAPTISM. 

and people about baptism. He demanded the reason for ranking 
an infant among the catechumens. He asked what a catechumen 
was. He enquired what was meant by renouncing the devil with 
his pomps and works ; why they exorcised an infant, and breathed 
upon it ; why they gave it salt ; why they touched its nostrils ; why 
they anointed its breast ; why they covered it with a veil and 
clothed it in white; and why they gave it the body and blood of 
the Lord. * From these questions it is evident that Romish bap- 
tism differed little in the time of Charlemagne from the same ordi- 
nance in the fifth century ; nor is it much changed now from the 
manner of its observance in the days of the great son of Pepin. 

Baptism according to the Catechism of the Council of Trent. 

Part second, chapter second, question 11. "But it is to be ob- 
served that although simple wa,ter, without any addition, in case 
of necessity, is the proper element for administering the sacrament, 
yet from a tradition of the apostles always observed in the Catholic 
Church, when baptism is conferred with solemn ceremonies, holy 
chrism is also added, by which it is evident that the effect of bap- 
tism is more fully declared.'' 

Quest. 17 " For those who ought to be initiated by this 

sacrament are either immersed in water, or water is poured upon 
them, or they are baptized by sprinkling. But, whichever one of 
these modes is observed, we must believe that baptism is properly 
given ; for water, in baptism, is used to signify the cleansing of the 
soul which it accomplishes. Wherefore, baptism is called by the 
apostle ^ a bath.' f But baptism is made no better when any one 
is immersed in water, although we notice that this mode was long 
observed in the earliest times in the Church, than by the pouring 
out of water, which we perceive to be a frequent practice now, or 
by aspersion." 

Quest. 23. After naming bishops, priests, and deacons as the 
proper ministers of this sacrament, the catechism specifies a fourth 
class who may baptize : " The last list of those who can baptize 
when necessity compels them, without the solemn ceremonies, in- 

* Du Pin, ii. p. 130 ; Dublin ed., 1724. 

t Per lavacrnm regenerationis. — Vulgate^ Titus iii. 5. 



CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TEENT AND BAPTISM. 161 

eludes all, even of the laity, of both sexes, whatever creed they may 
profess. For this office is permitted even to Jews, to infidels, 
and to heretics, when necessity compels ; provided that they intend 
to perform that which the Catholic Church effects in that office of 
her ministry/' 

Quest. 24. This article prescribes the order to govern those who 
administer baptism. If a priest is present a deacon must not bap- 
tize ; if a deacon is present a layman must not ; if a man is present 
a woman must not, unless she be a " midwife, accustomed to bap- 
tize, and the man inexperienced" in the method of saving the 
dying by water. 

Quest. 25. "As therefore every one, after he has been born, needs 
a nurse, and an instructor, by whose assistance and labor he may 
be educated and trained in knowledge and useful arts ; so also it 
is necessary that they who begin to live a spiritual life at the bap- 
tismal font should be committed to the fidelity and prudence of 
some one, through whom they may imbibe the precepts of the 
Christian religiou, and be instructed in every pious way.'' .... 

Quest. 30. " The law of baptism is thus prescribed by our Lord 
to all men ; insomuch that unless they are regenerated to God 
through the grace of baptism, w^hether their parents be Christian 
or infidel, they are born to eternal misery and destruction.'^ 

Quest. 41 "They are to be taught in the first place, that by 

the admirable force of this sacrament sin is remitted and pardoned, 
whether derived originally from our first parents, or committed by 
ourselves, however great its enormity.^' 

Quest. 51. "Xow truly by baptism we are united and joined 
as members to Christ the heacf 

Quest. 57. " But beside the other advantages which we secure 
from baptism, the last as it were, and that to which all the rest 
seem to be referred, is that it op)ens to each of us the gate of heaven 
closed formerly against us by sin.'' 

Quest. 64. " The exorcism follows, which is administered by 
holy and religious words and prayers, to expel the devil and to 
break his power." 

Quest. 68. . . .At the font, " the priest puts three distinct interro- 
■ gatories to the person to be baptized : Dost thou renounce Satan f 
and all his worlds f and all his pomps f To each of which he, or 
11 



162 CANONS OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT ON BAPTISM. 

the sponsor in his name^ replies : I renounce. The priest then 
questions him on each article of the creed, and asks him if he be- 
lieves it ? To which the sponsor answers : I believeJ' 

Quest. 69. " When the sacrament is now to be administered, 
the priest asks the person about to be baptized, if he will be bap- 
tized f^^ and after receiving the usual answer, he is invariably 
dipped, if the ceremony is performed in Milan, * or poured upon, 
or sprinkled, if he is baptized elsewhere. 

Quest. 70. " The baptism being now over, the priest anoints 
the baptized on the crown of the head with chrism, that he may 
understand that from that day, as a member, he is joined to Christ 
the Head, and ingrafted on his body." 

Quest. 71. ^^ Afterwards the priest clothes the baptized with a 
white garment." 

Quest. 72. ^^A lighted candle is then put in his hand, which 
shows that faith, burning with charity, lohich he received in bap- 
tism, should be nourished and increased by the pursuit of good 
works." t 

Canons of the Council of Trent, 

" If X any one shall say that baptism is optional, that it is not 
necessary to salvation, let him be accursed." 

'^If § any one shall say that the baptism given by heretics, in 
the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the intention 
of doing what the Church does, is not true baptism, let him be 
accursed." 

"If II any one shall say that the baptized are free from all the 
precepts of holy Church, which are written or received by tradi- 

* Stanley's Hist. Eastern Church, p. 117. N. Y., 1870. 

t Catechis. Cone. Trident., pars ii. cap. 2, pp. 133, 161. Lipsise, 1865. 

X Sii quis dixerit, bastismnm liberum esse, hoc est, non necessarium ad 
sahitem ; anathema sit. 

I Si quis dixerit, baptismum, qui etiam datur ab hsereticis, in nomine 
Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti cum intentione faciendi quod facit ecclesia, 
ron esse verum baptismum ; anatliema sit. 

II Si quis dixerit, baptizatos liberos esse ab omnibus sanctge ecclesiae prseceptis, 
quse vel scripta yel tradita sunt, ita ut ea observare non teneantur, nisi se sua 
sponte illis submittere voluerint ; anathema sit. — Can. 4, 5, 8, de Sacram., 
sess. vii., Conones et Decreta Concilii Tridentini. Lipsise, 1863. 



TANONS OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT ON BAPTISM. 163 

tion, so that they are not bound to observe them, unless they wish 
to subject themselves to them of their own accord ; let him be 
accursed." 

By this last canon all baptized persons are bound to obey the 
entire precepts of the Church of Rome, whether they approve of 
them or not. Willing or unwilling, if the Church has the power 
tliey must yield, or suffer at the discretion of the clergy. By the 
second decree all Protestant baptisms are good in the Catholic 
Church, and every Protestant, baptized in any way, is a son of 
the Bishop of Rome, and bound to obey the holy father, or bear the 
consequences just as severely as if he and his fathers for twelve 
hundred years had been in the Holy Church that gave birth to 
St. Dominic and the inquisition. 

It is universally believed among Protestants that large num- 
bers of children, not belonging to the Romish Church, in our 
chief cities, are baptized by popish priests, to whom they are 
stealthily conveyed by nurses and others. Hogan says about his 
residence in this city, when priest of St. Mary's : ^^ I baptized 
more children than any clergyman in Philadelphia ; among these 
were hundreds of Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists, and 
Baptists, brought to me for that purpose by their Roman Catholic 
nurses, without the knowledge of their Protestant mothers.'^ * 'No 
doubt but this is true. And even here, it is more than likely that 
many a " father '' since Hogan's day could have made the same 
statement. This was the favor conferred upon the baby Israelite, 
Mortara, some years ago by his nurse, for which he was wdckedly 
torn from his parents, and brought up in a convent in the religion 
of Rome. If some Catholic Bishop, armed with such powers as 
his brethren have often exercised, were to reclaim all the children 
baptized in the Catholic Church in Philadelphia, perhaps half the 
leading Protestants of this city might be compelled to suffer the 
wrongs of Edgar Mortara ; or worse evils, if they proved rebel- 
lious. 

But as heretical baptism is orthodox, and as the baptized must 
obey all the precepts of Holy Church,. with their own accord or 
loithout it, the pope needs but the power to seize us all, and train 

* "Auricular Confession," by William Hogan, p. 130. Boston, 1845. 



164 CANONS OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT ON BAPTISM. 

US to obedience, or crush us by such fierce displays of tyranny as 
have given his Church the most hideous record in the annals of 
cruelty and sanctified murder. Well may the pope eulogize his 
magical baptism in the words with which Tertullian begins his 
tract on that ordinance : " Oh, fortunate sacrament of our 
water ! '^ * 

* De Baptismo, cap. i. p. 33. Lipsiae, 1839. 



CONFIRMATION. 

This sacrament had no existence, in any form, until the end of 
the second or the beginning of the third century ; and then it 
appears simply as a part of baptism, as the completion of that 
solemn rite. 

Tertullian says : * '' From thence, having gone forth from the 
bath (of baptism), we are anointed with a blessed unction according 
to the primitive regulation/^ And, again : * '^ Thus the unction 
comes carnally upon us, but it profits spiritually, as the act of bap- 
tism itself is carnal, because we are immersed in water ; the effect 
is spiritual, because we are freed from sin ; after this, there is impo- 
sition of hands, invoking the Holy Spirit by the benediction/^ 
Here the imposition of hands and the unction were but ceremonies 
belonging to baptism. In the life of St. Basil, it is recorded 
that : t " Maximus, the bishop, baptized him and Eubulus, and 
clothed them with the white garments, and, anointing them with 
the holy chrism, gave them the communion." Here, the baptism 
and confirmation are parts of a whole. And even children were 
confirmed w^ith the chrism and imposition of hands, as soon as they 
were baptized, as Gennadius clearly asserts : J "If they be little 

* Epinde egressi de lavacro periuigimurbenedicta unctione de pristiua dis- 

ciplina sic et in nobis carnaliter currit unctio, sed spirilualiter 

proficit, quomodo et ipsius baptismi carnalis actus, quod in aqua mergimur, 
spiritualis effectus, quod delictis liberamur. Dehinc manus imponitur, per 
benedictionem advocans et iuvitaus Spiritum Sanctum. — De Bapiismo, cap. 
7, 8, p. 37. L-ipsise, 1839. 

t Baptizavit Maximus Episcopus Basilium et Eubulum, et vestivit albis, 
atque ungens eos sancto clirismate, tradidit eis communionem. — Amphilocli., 
Vit. Basil, cap. v. 

X Si pai'vuli sint .... respondeant proillis qui eos oflFerunt, juxta morem 

1(55 



166 CONFIExMATION. 

children that are baptised, let those who bring them answer for 
them according to the custom of baptizing ; and then, confirmed 
by the imposition of hands and chrism, let them be admitted to 
the mysteries of the eucharist.'^ Here, again, confirmation imme- 
diately follows baptism. 

This is the Custom of the Greek Church to-day. 

Says Dean Stanley:* ^^The imposition of hands is still con- 
tinued at the baptism of children, as of adults. Confirmation with 
them is simultaneous with the act of the baptismal immersion." 
Xor is its administration limited to bishops. Every priest f can con- 
firm those whom he baptizes in the Greek Church. This is the 
way confirmation was practised when first introduced into the 
Church, and for many hundreds of years after. The separation 
of confirmation from baptism is supposed by Riddle J to have 
commenced in the Western Church, in the beginning of the sev- 
enth century, but not to have been permanently completed till the 
thirteenth. The ceremonies of ancient confirmation were the 
anointing, the sign of the cross, imposition of hands, and prayer. § 

Ifodern Homish Confirmation. 

Says the Council of Trent : || "If any one shall afiirm that the 
confirmation of the baptized is a useless ceremony, and not rather 
a true and proper sacrament .... let him be accursed." 

'Statements of the Catechism of Trent about Confirmation. 

Pars ii., caput iii., quest. 2. . . . " The person baptized, when 
anointed with the sacred chrism by the bishop, the unction being 

baptizandi, et sic manns irapositione et chrismate communiti, eucliaristise 
mysteriis admittantur. — Gennad. de Dogmat. Ecd.^ cap. Iii. 

* "History of the Eastern Church," p. 118. New York ed., 1870. 

f Hagenbach's " History of Doctrines," ii, p. 88, note. 

X Riddle's " Cliristian Antiquities," pp. 536, 539. London ed., 1843. 

§ Bingham's "Antiquities," booli xii. chap. 3, sec. 1. 

II Si quis dixerit, confirmation em baptizatorum otiosam cereraoniam esse, 

et non potius verum et proprium sacramentum anathema sit. — 

Can. i. de Confirm., Sess. vii. p. 45, Canones et Becreta Cone. Trid. Lipsiae, 
1863. 



CATECHISM OF TRENT ABOUT CONFIRMATION. 167 

accompanied with these solemn words : I sign thee with the sign of 
the cross, and confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, begins to be 
settled in firmness by the strength of a new virtue, and thus to 
become a perfect soldier of Christ (novae virtutis robore firmior, 
atque adeo perfectus Christi miles esse incipit)." 

Quest. 7. ^' This is called chrism, a word borrowed from the 
Greek language, which is appropriated by common usage among 
ecclesiastical writers to signify that ointment only, which is com- 
posed of oil and balsam, with the solemn consecration of the 
bishop." 

Quest. 14. ^' Sponsors are also added, as we have already shown 
to be the case, in baptism ; for if they w^ho enter the fencing lists 
have need of some one through whose skill and advice they may 
be taught by what thrusts and passes they may destroy an enemy, 
while they remain unhurt, how much more will the faithful re- 
quire a leader and monitor, when, covered and fortified by the 
strongest armor, through the sacrament of confirmation, they de- 
scend into a spiritual contest, in which eternal salvation is the 
proposed reward.'^ 

Ques. 17. " It is most proper to delay this sacrament at least to 
seven years." 

Quest. 19. " For those who have heen made Christians by bap- 
tism, as if new-born infants, have a certain tenderness and softness ; 
and afterward, by the sacrament of chrism, they become stronger 
against all the assaults of the flesh, the world, and the devil, and 
their minds are altogether confirmed in the faith, for confessing and 
glorifying the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, from which strength 
the name itself originated, as no one will doubt." 

Quest. 23. * '^ They, therefore, who are confirmed by the Holy 
chrism are anointed on the forehead ; for, by this sacrament, the 
Holy Spirit pours himself ujjon the minds of the faithful, and in- 
creases strength and fortitude in them, that they may be able to 

* Qui igitnr confirmantiir sacro chrismate, in fronte nngiuitur. Nam hoc 
Sacramento Spiritus Sanctus in animos tidelium sese infundit,in eisqne robnr 
et fortitudinem auget, nt in spirituali certamine viriliter pugnare, et nequis- 
simis hostibus resistere qneant — Quest, ii., vii., xiv., xvii., xix , xxiii , xxv., 
pp. 161, 162, 167, 169, 171, 172, CatecJi. Cone. Trid. Lipsige, 1865. 



168 SUPPOSED SCRIPTURE AUTHORITY FOR CONFIRMATION". 

fight manfully in the spiritual contest^ and resist their most im- 
placable foes." 

From the title of the question in the Catechism^ we are taught 
that chrism is applied to the forehead in the form of a cross. 

Quest. 25. '^ Then the person who is anointed and confirmed 
receives a gentle slap on the cheek from the bishop, that he may 
remember that he ought to be prepared, as a brave wrestler, to 
bear, with invincible courage, all adverse things for the name of 
Christ. Lastly, moreover, the peace is given to him, that he may 
know that he has attained the fullness of heavenly gracey and the 
■peace tuhich surpasses all understanding J' 

This would be a wonderful unction, and an astonishing impo- 
sition of hands, if from both we received the Holy Spirit and the 
peace of God that passes all understanding. It is, however, not 
by works -of righteousness which we have done, but according to 
his mercy he saves us; being -justified by faith, we have peace with 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Supposed Scripture Authority. 
The Catholic Church * quotes Acts viii. 14-18, as proof that by 
laying on of hands the Holy Spirit was bestowed ; and, truly, so 
he was, but it was his miracle-working powers which were con- 
ferred. At the 1 8th verse, it is said : " When Simon saw that 
through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was 
given, he offered them money, saying. Give me also this power, 
that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost.'' 
Now, Simon saw nothing of the peace, faith,- praying power, and 
spiritual enjoyments and privileges of these men; he cared nothing 
about such matters ; he wrought pretended miracles himself; he 
saw that the Holy Spirit enabled these persons to perform wonders, 
and he wanted to buy this astonishing agency. The imposition of 
hands here simply gave the power of working miracles, and not 
the blessings of any sacrament. Chrism and the imposition of 
hands were employed in the times of the apostles, but never as 
parts of the sacrament of confirmation. The papal sacrament of 
that name had no existence for many centuries after Christ ; it is 
A HUMAN INVENTION. 



« 



*Catecli. Cone. Trid., Quest, xiii. cap. iii. pars ii. p. 167. Lipsise, 1865. 



THE LORD'S SUPPER, THE EUCHARIST, THE MASS. 

These three terms designate one institution, and when that 
solemn observance is viewed as it is presented in the Scriptures, 
the Protestant doctrine is undoubtedly the true one. In the 
English Catholic version in Matt. xxvi. 26-30, it is said : *' Whilst 
they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke, 
and gave to his disciples, and said, Take ye and eat ; this is my 
body ; and, taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, 
saying : Brink ye all of this ; for this is my blood of the new testa- 
ment which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. And 
I say unto you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of 
the vine until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the 
kingdom of my Father. And a hymn being said, they went out 
unto Mount Olivet.'' In Mark xiv. 22-26, it is said : " Whilst 
they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessing, broke, and gave 
to them, and said : Take ye, this is my body ; and having taken the 
chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of 
it. And he said to them : This is my blood of the new testa- 
ment, which shall be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, that I 
will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day when I 
shall drink it new in the kingdom of God. And when they had 
said an hymn, they went forth to the Mount of Olives." And in 
Luke xxii. 19, 20, it is said: ^^And taking bread, he gave thanks, 
and broke, and gave to them, saying : This is my body which is 
given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me. In like 
manner, the chalice, also, after he had supped, saying : This is the 
chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for 
you.'' And in 1 Cor. xi. 23-27, it is said : " The Lord Jesus, the 
same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and, giving 

169 



170 

thaiiksj broke, and said : Take ye and eat ; this is my body which 
shall be delivered for you : this do for the commemoration of me. 
In like manner, also, the chalice, after he had supped, saying : This 
chalice is the new testament in my blood ; this do ye as often as 
you shall drink for the commemoration of me. For as often as 
you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice, you shall show the 
death of the Lord till he co?7ie." Such are the accounts given of 
the Lord's Supper in the words of a Catholic version. Paul calls 
the body of the Lord bread twice after consecration, showing that it 
was bread. He says that the Lord's Supper " shows the death of the 
Lord till he come^^ declaring emphatically that the Lord is not in 
it, that he is away. The Saviour calls the cup : " This fruit 
of the vine,'' in Matt. xxvi. 29, after consecration, and not blood : 
showing that it was unchanged. And as for the saying, " This is 
my body," it means simply that the broken bread was a picture of 
his torn body, just as the words, ^^ The Lord God is a sun and 
shield," mean that the sun is a figure 'of the light which God 
gives, and the shield a figure of the defence which he bestows. No 
one, in his senses, while Christ uttered these words, w^ould have 
imagined that the bread was his body, or the cup his blood. His 
body was entire at that moment ; not a drop of his blood was 
spilled ; and, hence, the supper is a " showing forth the Lord's 
death till he come " — a commemoration of the death of an absent 
Saviour. 

The priests scorn the idea that there could be any figure in the 
declaration : ^' This is my body ;" but when Paul says : " For as 
often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice^'' they must 
grant that it is not the chalice but its contents that are to be drunk. 
If it is not a figurative expression, the priests of Pome should 
swallow the cup as well as the contents. The words, " I am the 
vine, I am the door," are literal if the expression is not figurative, 
" This is my body." 'No community would suffer more than the 
Catholic Church from a non-figurative interpretation of every 
scripture word. In the Catholic l^ew Testament, Matt. xvi. 22, 
23, it is said : " And Peter taking him began to rebuke him, say- 
ing : Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee ; who 
turning said to Peter : GO BEHIND ME, SATAN, THOU 
ART A SCANDAL UNTO ME, because thou savourest not 



THE ELEMENTS OF THE LOED's SUPPEE. 171 

the things that are of God, but the things that are of men." If 
the words, "This is my body/' must be taken literally, we would 
mildly insist that Christ's address to Peter shall be taken literally 
too when he said to him : "Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal 
unto me." According to that interpretation, Peter is the chief of 
devils ; and the Church of Pome, built on Simon, is founded on 
Beelzebub himself. A literal interpretation of the words, " This 
is my body," leads to sacred cannibalism ; and of the saying in 
jNIatt. xvi. 22, 23, makes Peter tlie devil, and Lucifer the founda- 
tion of the Papal Church. A figurative view of both passages is 
the true one. 

The Lordts Supper after the First and inside the Sixth Century, 

The name missa or mass was applied very early to the supper. 
After a portion of the service at public worship was over, a deacon 
arose and said : " Ite, missa est [ecclesia] — depart, the assembly is 
dismissed." Immediately all the non-church members withdrew. 

At public worship in early times there was a twofold missa, the 
missa catecheumenorum, and the missa fidelium, the former describ- 
ing the united worship of the unbelieving, the catechumens, and 
the faithful church members ; and the latter the observances of 
the communicants when the others had withdrawn. * The word 
mass for many centuries had no odor of popery about it. 

The Elements. 

After the united service of the whole people was over, and be- 
fore the beginning of the supper of the faithful, it was customary 
for every one to make offerings according to his ability. These 
gifts were placed upon the communion table by the minister. On 
this occasion it was deemed peculiarly disgraceful to appear before 
the Lord empty-handed. These donations were used to support 
the clergy, to relieve the poor, and to furnish bread and wine for 
the Lord's table. The bread w^as common, such as served for the 
ordinary use of the people, f The wine was mixed with water 
from very ancient times in all the churches. Some of the leading 

* Stillingfleet's Irenicura, p. 261. Phila., 1842. Du Pin, ii. 133. Dublin, 1724. 
t Cave's "Primitive Christianity," p. 167. Oxford, 1840. 



172 PEAYEES CONNECTED WITH THE EUCHAEIST. 

fathers regarded this practice as resulting from an express com- 
mand of Christ. * 



The Prayer and Conseeration Ceremonies of the Supper. 

The elements being placed on the table^ a deacon brought water 
to the bishop and his presbyters to wash their hands, signifying 
the purity which men should have who approach God. Then the 
deacon cried out, " Mutually embrace and kiss one another.^^ This 
holy kiss was very ancient, and was specially given at the supper 
as a token of reconciliation, forgiveness, and goodwill. Then the 
whole congregation with the minister began the COMMON 
PRAYER, a very lengthy and appropriate supplication, for the 
peace and welfare of the entire Church, for the tranquillity of the 
world, for the prosperity of the age, for fruitful seasons, for kings, 
emperors, and all in authority, for soldiers and armies, believers and 
unbelievers, friends and companions, for the sick and distressed, and 
for all that stood in need of help. After the prayer the minister 
said to the people : " The Lord be with you ;" and the people ans- 
wered, "And with thy spirit." Then the minister proceeded to the 
prayer of consecration, consisting of expressions of fervent grati- 
tude to God for the death, resurrection and ascension of his Son, 
for the shedding of his blood, and the celebration of it in the 
supper. This usually ended with the Lord's Prayer, and a hearty 
and universal acclamation of " amen '' from all that were present. 
After the prayer of consecration the minister cried out : " Holy 
things to holy persons,^' the people answering, " There is one holy, 
one Lord Jesus Christ.'^ Then he exhorted them to share in the 
holy mysteries, by singing, " Come taste and see that the Lord is 
good." Then the bishop or presbyter broke the bread and gave 
it to the deacon, who distributed it to the communicants, f During 
the time of celebration they sung hymns and psalms. The whole 
observance was concluded by prayer and thanksgiving, that God 
had given them such great privileges. 



* Kiddle's "Christian Antiquities," p. 590. London, 1843. 
f Cave's -'Primitive Christianity," p. 170. Oxford, 1840. 



OBSERVANCES CONNECTED WITH THE EUCHARIST. 173 

Posture at the Lord^s Supper. 

Eicldle says : " It would appear from direct evidence still ex- 
tant, that for the most part, if not always, communicants received 
the consecrated elements standing." * According to Cave the 
apostles received it reclining on couches after the Jewish custom 
of eating, but in the third century participants at the Lord's table 
received the eucharist standing, f Eusebius | preserves a letter 
of Dionysius of Alexandria addressed to Xystus, Bishop of Rome, 
in which he speaks of an old communicant who doubted his bap- 
tism because it was received among heretics, and Dionysius tried 
to quiet his conscience by reminding him that for a long time he 
had " been in the habit of hearing the thanksgiving, and repeat- 
ing the amen, and standing at the table, and extending his hand to 
receive the sacred elements.'' Dionysius was a very distinguished 
bishop, and it is evident from this letter to the Bishop of Rome, 
that he was tenacious of the customs of the Church everyAvhere, 
and was afraid to make innovations. So that standing, and not 
kneeling, the attitude of worship, was the posture in which the 
eucharist was received in the early Church. 

The Supper was Received on an empty Stomach, 

St. Augustine says that the disciples at the first supper were not 
fasting, but now, for the honor of so great a sacrament, fasting 
before partaking of it is the custom of the whole world. § 

The Frequency of Observing the Supper. 

According to Cave it was dispensed daily in the early churches 
for some time; this was the use in Carthage in the third century, 
and in Rome and Milan in the fourth. In some eastern churches 
the supper was celebrated four times a week. From once a day 
it declined to once a week, then to once a month, and then to thrice 
a year, at Christuias, Easter, and Whitsuntide. || 

* Riddle's " Christian Antiquities," p. 597. London, 1843. 
f Cave's " Primitiye Christianity," p. 171. Oxford, 1840. 
X Eusebius' Eccl. History, book vii. chap. 9. 
§ Ep. 118, ad Januar., cap. 6, ii. p. 213. Paris, 16K 
J Cave's Prim. Chris., pp. 165, 166. Oxford, 1840. 



174 OBSERVANCES CONNECTED WITH THE EUCHARIST. 

The Fragments of the Supper. 

It was usual in early times to keep the remains of the eucharist 
for the innocent children of the church ; and on a particular day 
they were brouglit there fasting, and partook of them. In some 
instances, wine was sprinkled upon them. * At Constantinople, 
in the time of Justinian, according to Evagrius, it was an old cus- 
tom to bring boys of a tender age from the schools to eat these 
fragments, f 

Pieces of the Eucharist Carried Home. 

Among the primitive disciples it was quite common for Chris- 
tians to take to their dwellings portions of the Lord's Supper. 
These they used to strengthen their faith in times of persecution, 
and to increase their love for each J other. Nor was it very un- 
common to carry it to sea, or about the body as a charm to ward 
off dangers and evil spirits. 

Ministers sent the Eucharist to each other. 

This practice, at one time, was very common, and it was per- 
petuated as a token of peace and love between those who made 
these fraternal but singular exchanges. Ireneus, as quoted by 
Eusebius, tells Victor, Bishop of Eome, that his predecessors, Ani- 
cetus, Pius, Hyginus, Telesphorus and Xystus, had sent the eucha- 
rist to ministers of churches with which Victor was engaged in a 
thoroughly popish quarrel, though popery was so little known in 
that day that Ireneus calls the men presbyters who governed the 
Church of Rome, over which Victor presided. § , 

No Adoration of the Eucharist in the Early Cliurch. 

There was no elevation of the elements in any part of the Chris- 
tian world for seven hundred years after Christ. This occurred 



* Bingham's Antiquities, book xy. chap. 7, sec. 4. 

+ Evagrius' Eccl. Hist., book iv. cap. 36. 

X Cave's Prim. Christianity, p. 163. 

g Eusebius' Eccl. Hist., book v. cap. 24. 



^LTAR AND COMMUNICANTS IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 175 

first among the Greeks ; and it was done, not for adoration, but to 
represent our Saviour's elevation on the cross and his resurrection 
from the dead. Among the Latins there was no elevation of the 
elements before the eleventh century, and then it was for the same 
reason as led the Greeks to practise it. The first author, according 
to Bingham, who gives adoration as the reason for the elevation 
of the host is Gulielmus Durantus, * who wrote about 1386. The 
adoration of the host had no existence before the twelfth century. 

There was no Altar in the Early Church. 

The communion table was simply the table of the Lord. Cole- 
man is not mistaken when he says: f ^' It was unknown until the 
third century." Du Pin says : % " Christians in the third century 
did not give the name altar to the table upon which they cele- 
brated the eucharist." Nor did they dream of a sacrifice, though 
the word was sometimes used, just as altar was, in and subsequent 
to the third century. Isidore, of Seville, who died in A. D. 636, 
according to Du Pin, gives us the conception of the eucharist as 
a sacrifice common in his day. Speaking of it, he says : § " It is 
called a sacrifice because it is made sacred by a mystical prayer, in 
rememhrance of the passion of our Lord. He defineth a sacra- 
ment the sign of a holy thing, communicating holiness." Isidore 
was one of the most influential bishops of his day. 

The Communicants in the Ancient Church, 

The eucharist was first given to the bishop, || then to the presby- 
ters, then to the deacons, subdeacons, readers, singers, and ascetics, 
the deaconesses, virgins, and widows, then the children, and then 
all the people in order. This is the custom described in the 
Apostolical Constitutions, and probably it continued from the 
middle of the third till the sixth centurv. 



* Bingham's Antiquities, book xv. chap. 5, sec. 4. 
t Ancient Christ. Exemplified, p. 244. Phil., 1852. 
+ Du Pin, vol. i. p. 589. Dublin, 1723. 
§ Du Pin, vol. ii. p. 2. Dublin, 1724. 
II Bingham, book xv. chap. 4, sec. 21. 



176 COMMUNICANTS IN THE EAELY CHURCH. 

After the united meeting of communicants and non-communi- 
cants was dismissed, and just as the supper is about to be cele- 
brated, a deacon solemnly warned all the catechumens (that is all 
unbaptized persons, though preparing to unite with the church), 
all persons under the censure of the church, and all unbelievers, to 
retire from the sanctuary. * The eucharist was only for baptized 
Christians in good standing. 

The Dying receive the Eucharist 

In the last struggles of the departing, as early as the third cen- 
tury, the Lord's Supper was carried to them ; and it was often 
dropped into their mouths when they were unable to lift it up 
themselves. Eusebius records a case of this kind : an old man 
named Serapion, speechless, except at short intervals, had the 
eucharist sent to him, and put in his mouth ; and soon after re- 
ceiving it he expired, f Such was the custom in those days. 

The Dead had the Eucharist placed in their Mouths, 

In Africa they sometimes baptized the dead ; and it was not 
uncommon in the same country, and in France, prior to A. D. 578, 
CO give the Lord's Supper to deceased persons. It was also prac- 
tised in the East as late as the seventh century. The third Coun- 
cil of Carthage, the Synod of Auxerre in France, and the Council 
of Trullo in Constantinople, condemned these outrageous follies. % 

Infants receive the Eucharist. 

In ISTorth Africa the communion of infants was first introduced. 
The Christians in that region supposed that the declarations in the 
sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel referred to external participa- 
tion in the Lord's Supper ; that act, as they understood it, was a 
mystical eating of the flesh, and drinking of the blood of the Son of 
God, without which there could be no eternal life ; and regard- 
ing such communion as necessary to salvation, they gave it to 
infants. § " It is beyond dispute," says Bingham, " that baptized 

* Bingham, book xv. chap. iii. sec. 5. 
t Eusebius' Eccl. Hist., book vi. cap. 44. 
X Bingham, book xv. chap. iv. sec. 19, 20. 
§ Neander, i. p. 333. Boston, 1870. 



INFANT COMMUNICANTS. 177 

infants were Immediately admitted to the eucliarist.'' Pic quotes 
Radulplms Ardens, who lived in the beginning of the twelfth 
century, as declaring it to be the custom to give little children the 
eucharist in his day, immediately after baptism ; and he refers to 
a direction in the old Ordo Romanus, composed in the ninth cen- 
tury, that ^^ Infants, after baptism, should not eat any food, nor 
seek the breast without great necessity, till they had communi- 
cated in the sacrament of the body of Christ." In the twelfth 
century this custom was superseded in France, but there is reason 
for supposing that it lived longer in Germany and Switzerland. * 
'"' The whole primitive Church, Greek and Latin, from Cyprian's 
time, gave the communion to infants ;" in the West, the practice 
began to die in the twelfth century. In the East the custom f is 
universal at this day. This usage w^as commended by the greatest 
names in the early Church. Augustine of Hippo, who had only 
one equal among all the fathers, commenting on the words: "Ex- 
cept ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye 
have no life in you ;'' and supposing these words to allude to the 
eucharist, asks : % " Dare any one be so bold as to say that this 
sentence does not belong to little children, or that they can have 
life without partaking of this body and blood '^ (of the supper) V 
Pope Innocent, the contemporary of Augustine, undoubtedly ex- 
presses the same opinion in his Epistle to Augustine, and the 
Council of Milevis. § Pope Gelasius, about A. d. 495, writes in 
reference to the eucharist : " No one should venture to exclude any 
child from this sacrament, without ivhich no one can attain to eter- 
nal life:' II 

But the infallible Council of Trent denounces and curses the 
sayings and practices of all Christendom for ages, including popes 
of Rome, who could not err in matters of faith, and yet did com- 
mit centuries of consecrated blunders, if the fathers of Trent were 

* Bingham, book xv. chap. iv. sec. 7. 

t Stanley's Hist, of the Eastern Church, p. 119. K Y., 1870. 

X An A'ero qiiisquam auclebit ctiam hoc dicere, quod ad parvulos hsec sen- 
tentia non perlineat, possunt que sine partitione corporis hnjus et sanguinis 
in se habere vitani ? — Aug. de Peccaior. Merit. ^ lib. i. cap. 20. 

§ Augustini Opera, Ep. 93, p. IGO, vol ii. Paris, 1614. 

\ llagenbach's '• History of Doctrines," vol i. 367. K Y. 1861. 
12 



178 CURIOUS OPINIONS ABOUT THE LORd's SUPPER. 

not mistaken. Their decree is : " If any one shall say that the 
communion of the eucharist is necessary for children before they 
arrive at years of discretion ; let him be accursed.'^* 

Singular Conceits about the Supper itself among the Primitive 

Christians. 

In North Africa, when the eucharist ceased to be observed every 
day, it was customary to carry home some of the bread without 
the wine, f and enjoy daily communion in this way. This is the 
first example of communion in one kind in the Christian Church, 
and it began in the end of the third century. But the eucharist 
was administered in both kinds in the churches without variation 
till the twelfth century. And just to show how the supper could 
be made defective in either element, children who were not able 
to eat bread, received the eucharist in wine only, and in this way, 
as was imagined, they were entitled to eternal life. % Sometimes 
the bread was dipped in the wine, and the two united were given 
to children, and to weak or dying persons, who could not other- 
wise have swallowed the bread. § 

One ancient sect substituted water for wine in the eucharist, and 
from this custom were sometimes called Aquarians. The Council 
of Auxerre condemned some who offered honey and water instead 
of wine ; others used milk for wine ; and others substituted grapes. 
In the fourth century, there was a community who thought the 
eucharist was not properly celebrated unless cheese was offered with 
the bread. These people were called Artoty rites, that is, Bread- 
Cheesians. || But these perversions of the ordinance were confined to 
few persons, and died out in a comparatively short time. 

There was another denomination, which held that no visible ele- 
ments could represent the divine mysteries ; that perfect knowledge 
was their redemption ; and, as a result of their oj^inions, they re- 



* Si quis dixerit, parvulis, antequam ad annos discretionis perveneriiit, 
uecessariam esse eucharistii3e coramunionem ; anathema sit. — Canones ei 
Decreta, Cone. Trid., sess. xxi., de Gommunione, can. iv. p. 110. Lipsise, 1863. 

t Neander, i. 333. Boston, 1870. X Id., vol. i. 333. 

§ Cave's "Primitive Cliristianity," p 170 Oxford, 1840. 

[' Bingham's Antiquities, book xv. chap. iii. sec. 7, 8. 



NO PRIVATE EUCHARISTS OR MASSES. 179 

jected the eucharist in every form. These ancient Quakers were 
called Ascodrutse.* 

There were no private eucharists or masses in the ancient 
Church. Even Bellarmine candidly owns that there is no express 
testimony to be found among the ancients that they ever offered 
the sacrifice without the communion of one or more persons beside 
the priest (nusquam expresse legitur a veteribus oblatum sacrifi- 
cium sine communione alicujus vel aliquorum prseter ipsum sacer- 
dotem).f At the Synod of Paris, under Gregory IV., A. d. 829, 
a decree was passed, stating that a culpable custom had crept in, in 
many places, partly by negligence, and partly by covetousness ; 
that some presbyters celebrate mass without any attendants ; the 
decree then proceeds to order ^^ every bishop to take care that no 
presbyter in his diocese shall presume to celebrate mass by himself 
alone " (provideat que unusquisque episcoporum, ne in sua paro- 
chia quisquam presbyterorum missam solus celebrare pr8esumat).J 
At this period, the practice had just ^' erept in/^ and it is emphati- 
cally condemned. Bingham is sustained by all Christian anti- 
quity in his statement : " The eucharist was not intended as a 
sacrifice to be offered by a single priest in a corner, without com- 
municants or assistants, or for the intention, or at the cost, of some 
particular persons, paying for it; but for a communion to the 
whole Church, as the primitive Church always used it : and there 
is not an example to be found of the contrary practice. § 

The Opinions of the Primitive Church, after the First Century, on 
the Nature of the Eucharist. 

The early Christians fell into the Lutheran view of the Lord^s 
Supper soon after the last of the apostles entered upon his rest, 
No man ever abhorred transubstantiation more than the mighty 
reformer of Wittemberg. But while he avowed his abhorrence of 
the doctrine that the eucharist was the body and blood of Christ, 
he taught distinctly that: || "The body and blood of Christ are 

* Theodoret, de Fabnlis Haeret., Hb. i. cap. 10. 
f Bellarmine, de Missa, lib. ii. cap. 9, p. 821. 
X Cone. Paris, lib. i. cap. 48. 

§ Bingham's Antiquities, book xv. cliap 4, sec. 4. 
II Augsburg Confession, Article x. 



1 so EARLY OPINIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE SUPPER. 

truly present in the sacrament, in the form of bread and wine^ and 
there distributed and received.'^ He would say with other Pro- 
testants, that the bread and wine were symbols of the body and 
blood of the Lord ; but he went beyond them in declaring that the 
body and blood of Christ are truly present in the sacrament. This 
was substantially the opinion of the Church from the second till 
the end of the ninth century. A Romanist now never speaks of 
his mass as sl figure, sign, or likeness of Christ's body ; to him, it is 
the very body born of the Virgin. The early Christians spoke of 
the eucharist as the body and blood of the Lord, and yet freely 
called it bread and wine, after consecration, and frequently desig- 
nated the elements figures and similitudes of the body and blood of 
Christ : showing that they did not believe that the bread and wine 
were the literal flesh and blood of the Saviour. 

Tertullian repeatedly uses a sentence like this about the supper : * 
" He made bread his body by saying : This is my body ; that is a 
figure of my body.'^ 

Ignatius, speaking about the eucharist, says : "f " Breaking one 
bread, which is the medicine of immortality, a remedy against 
death.'' He regarded the loaf as bread after it was broken and 
consecrated. 

Clemens Alexandrinus, writing about the supper, says : { " For 
be ye sure he did also drink wine, for he also was a man ; and he 
blessed Avine when he said: Take, drink; this is my blood, the 
blood of the vine : for this expression : ^ Shed for many for the re- 
mission of sins,' signifies, allegorically, a holy stream of gladness." 
The consecrated cup is the blood of the vine, after the blessing has 
fallen upon it, and it signifies, allegorically, a holy stream af glad- 
ness. 

* Panem corpus sumn fecit, Hoc est corpus meum dicendo, id est, figura 
corporis mei. — Coni. Marc, lib. iv. cap. 40. 

"f "Kva dptov xXujvff? uc eatvv ^dpfiaxov aOavaaia^ O/vtldoto^ tov /xrj aTiodavetv. 
— Ignat. ep. ad Ephes. 

t "Ei; yap irs'ts, fi£te7idi3ev olvov xat. avto^' xai yap avOpcoTio^ xal avto^, xai 
iv'koyrQhv y£ tov olvov, UXuiv. Aa3fT'f, Tiists ' tovto iariv al/xa, at^aa r*/? auyisT^ov' 
'Tov Xoyoj', tov TtFpl rtoTJKujv Ixx^ouivov h^ d^saiv a/tapT'tcov sv^poavvyjs a/ytov 

a7.'kYiyopsi vdua. — Clem. Alex. Opera, torn. i. Paedg., lib. ii. cap. 2, p. 166. 
Oxon., 1715. 



« 



I 

J 



181 

Cyprian, reasoning with one who had used water in the eucha- 
rist instead of wine, argues : * ^' For since Christ says : I am the 
true vine, the blood of Christ is not, therefore, water, but wine ; 
tior can his blood appear to be in the cup by which we have been 
redeemed and made alive, when the wine is absent from the chalice, 
by wdiich the blood of Christ is represented.^^ 

Eusebius says : f " He gave to his disciples the symbols of divine 
economy, commanding the image of his own body to be made." 
Surely, the great Bishop of Csesarea had no faith in transubstan- 
tiation. In his interpretation of John vi., Eusebius says : % '^ We 
are not to believe that Christ spoke of his present body, or enjoined 
the drinking of his corporeal and sensuous blood, but the words 
which he speaks are spirit and life ; so that his words themselves 
are his flesh and blood/' 

Chrysostom says : § "As the bread before it is sanctified is 
called bread, but after the divine grace has sanctified it by the 
mediation of the priest, it is no longer called bread, but dignified 
with the name of the body of the Lord, though the nature of 
bread remain in it^' 

Ambrose says : || " Make this our oblation a chosen, rational, 
acceptable oblation, because it is made for a figure of the body 
and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ/' 

Augustine states, ^ that " The Lord did not hesitate to say 
' This is my body,' when he gave the sign of his body." " Christ 



* Nam cum dicat Cliristus, Ego sum vitis vera, sanguis Cliristi non aqua 
est utique, sed vinum. Nee potest videri sanguis ejus, quo redempti et vivi- 
licati sumus, esse in calice, quando vinum desit calici, quo Christi sanguis os- 
tenditur. — Ep. 63, ad CcEcilium^ Domiiiici Galicis. 

I Ta avu.Ao'ka rr^^ cvQ^ov OLxovomu.; r tj cxvtov TtapfStSoxj fiaO?jtai$ trv f-lxova, 
tov 18lov owuaro? TtoinnSat rtapa zfXsvouf 1^05. — Euseb. Oper., Demonst. Evang. 
lib. viii. cap. i. Paris, 1628. 

X Theo. Eccl., vol iii. chap. 12. 

I Chrysos. Ep. ad Goes. Monach , torn. iii. p, 744. Bened. ed., 1721. 

jl Fac nobis banc oblalionem adscriptam, rationabilem, acceptabilem ; 
quod fit in figuram corporis et sanguinis Domini nostri Jesu Cbiisti. — Am- 
brose, torn, iv., de Sacram.^ lib. iv. 5, p. 173. Coloniae, 1616. 

1 Non enim Dominus dubitavit dicre : Hoc est corpus meum, cum signum 
daret corporis sui. — torn, viii., Contra .' dimanlum^ cap. ii. sec. iii. col. 124. 
Paris, 1680. 



182 THE lord's supper a symbol to the fathers. 

admitted Judas to that banquet, in which he commended and 
delivered unto his disciples the figure of his body and blood/' * 

Jerome states that Christ '^ did not offer water, but wine as a 
type of his blood." f 

Pope Gelasius writes in A. D. 490 : J ^' Doubtless the sacraments 
of the body and blood of Christ which we receive, are a divine 
thing; and, therefore, by them we are made partakers of the 
divine nature, and yet the substance and nature of bread and 
wine do not cease to be in them ; and, indeed, the image and 
similitude of the body and blood of Christ are celebrated in the 
mysterious action.'^ 

Facundus, an African bishop, about A. D. 590, wrote : § " The 
sacrament of adoption ma}' be called adoption, as we call the 
sacrament of his body and blood, which is in the consecrated bread 
and cup, his body and blood, not because the bread is properly 
his body, or the cup his bloody but because they contain the mys- 
tery of his body and blood." 

Isidore, Bishop of Seville, writing about a.d. 630, says:|| 
^^ The bread, because it nourishes and strengthens our bodies, is 
therefore called the body of Christ, and the wine, because it creates 
blood in our flesh, is called the blood of Christ." This distin- 
guished bishop saw in the sacramental elements only resemblances 
of the Saviour^s body and blood. 



* Eum adhibiiit ad eonviviom in quo corporis et sanguinis sui figuram 
discipulis commendavit et tradidit. — Tom. iv,, in Psahn. iii. p. 9. Paris, 1680. 

\ Hierom. Opera, ad Jovin. 

X Certe sacramenta quae snmimus corporis et sanguinis Domini divina res est, 
propter quod et per eadem Divinge efficimur, consortes naturae, -et tamen esse 
non desinit substantia vel natura panis et vini. Et certe imago et similitudo 
corporis et sanguinis Cliristi in actione mysteriorum celebrantur. — Gelas, de 
Buabus Xatur.^ cont. Nestor. etEiitych.., Bibl. Patr.^ torn. iv. par. i. 422. 
Paris, 1589. 

§ Potest sacramentum adoptionis adoptio nuncupari, sicut sacramentum 
corporis et sanguinis ejus, quod est in pane et poculo consecrato, corpus ejus 
et sanguinem dicimus : non quod proprie corpus ejus sit panis et poculum 
sanguis, sed quod in se mysteiium corporis sanguinisque contineant. — Fa- 
cund-, lib ix cap. 5. 

I! Panis quia confirmat corpus, ideo Christi corpus nuncupatur ; vinum 
aulem, quia sanguinem operatur in carne, ideo ad sanguinem Cliristi refer- 
tur. — ^sidor. HispaL, de Bed. Ojffic., lib. i. cap. 18. 



THE IDEA OF TEANSUBSTANTIATION JUST BORN. 183 

THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM CONSUBSTANTIATION TO 
TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

Up till the early part of the ninth century, the Christian Church 
had not been disturbed by controversies about the eucharist. A 
few heretics occasionally attempted to make innovations even upon 
it, but they were soon quieted, and the belief of centuries flowed 
calmly on in worshipping hearts. 

Paschasius Radbert was the first man who promulgated the 
doctrine of transubstantiation, though he used another name ; for 
that term was not yet applied to the doctrine. He was a monk, a 
native of Soissons, and a man of great acuteness of mind. He 
wrote, in A. D. 831, a book '^ Concerning the Body and Blood of 
our Saviour," in which he took the ground, that the wine of the 
sacrament is " The very blood that ran out of the Saviour's side 
upon the cross, and that for that reason water is mingled with the 
eucharistical wine ;'' and that the bread of the Lord's Supper " is 
the very flesh of our Saviour which was horn of theVirginJ^ This 
was the first formal and unmistakable announcement of transub- 
stantiation ever made by one man to another. Even Du Pin 
substantially admits this by saying about Padbert's book : '^ It 
was not usual in those times to say positively that the body of 
Christ in the eucharist was the same that was born of the Virgin^ 
and to assert it so plainly." And he sustains this opinion by 
quoting a declaration of the celebrated Father Mabillon, asserting 
that " Before the book of Paschasius on the Body and Blood of 
the Lord, all Catholics confessed that the true body and true blood 
of Christ the Lord existed assuredly in the eucharist ; and like- 
wise, that in it the bread and wine were changed. But no one at 
the time of Paschasius had heard that that body was the same 
which was bom of the Virgin Mary.^^ * This is just the point of 
the whole controversy. The Lutherans, and the early Christians 
for centuries taught, that the body and blood of Christ were 
received in the elements, though neither believed that the bread 
had ceased to be bread, or that the wine had lost its original prop- 
erties. Du Pin and Mabillon are Catholic witnesses that Pad- 
bert's doctrine was a novelty. 

* Du Pin, vol. ii. p. 80. Dublin, 1724. 



184 CHARLES THE BALD IGXOEANT OF THE XEW DOCTRINE. 

But this monstrous creation^ when it was first taught, stirred up 
the leading men of Europe to oppose it ; and those who resisted 
it were a multitude. Two anonymous writers gave it a complete 
exposure; and as the commotions excited by the controversy 
threatened a schism in the Church, Charles the Bald expressed 
his fears of such a rupture to Bertram, and Avith a view to quiet 
the angry passions aroused by Radbert, he asked him to answer 
these two questions in a treatise : '^ Are the body and blood of 
Christ in the eucharist? If so, is it the body born of the Virgin?" 
The very existence of such a trouble in the Catholic countries sub- 
ject to Charles, and the pressure on him to quiet his owm mind 
and the anxieties of his subjects show, still farther, that Radbert 
was only an innovator. The first question he answers by proving 
that the " Body and blood of Christ received in the church by the 
mouth of the faithful are figures, if considered in the visible form 
of the bread and wdne. But if considered in their hidden quali- 
ties they are the body and blood of Christ." The second question 
he answers by proving that the body and blood which the faithful 
participate in in the eucharist are quite another thing, both in the 
sign and the thing signified, from the body born of the Virgin and 
seen on the cross. Bertram w^as a man of commanding influence 
and intellect. * John Scotus, another man of the highest culture, 
was consulted by Charles on the same subject, and at his request 
wrote a work to show that ^' The sacraments of the altar are not 
the real body and blood of our Saviour, hut only a commerao- 
ration of themJ' f 

Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mentz, about A. D. 825, 
says : J " Lately indeed some persons, not thinking rightly concern- 
ing the sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord, have said 
that that very body and blood of the Lord which was born from 
the Virgin Mary is the same as that which is received from the 
altar. In opposition to which error, as far as lay in our power, 
writing to the Abbot Egilus, we propounded what ought to be be- 
lieved." 

* Du Pin, ii. 82, 83. Dublin, 1724. f W- "• P- 84. 

X Elliott's "Delineation of Romanism," p. 153. London, 1851. 



OPPOSITION TO TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 185 

Herigar, Abbot of Laub, in the territory of Liege, wrote a 
book against Radbert. * 

Du Pin says that ^' among the authors of the ninth century that 
have cursorily treated of this matter, Amalatius, Floras, and Druth- 
marus speak of the eucharist like Bertram." f And Bingham 
adds to the enemies of Radbert's theory, in addition to those al- 
ready named: Walafridus, Strabo, Heribaldus, Lupus, Frudegard us, 
Prudentius, Tricassin, Alfricas, and the Saxon homilies, Fulber- 
tus Carnotensis, Luthericus Senonensis, Berno Augiensis," J and 
others he says might be mentioned. 

At first the doctrine of Radbert was repugnant to the cultivated 
and the godly, but it was broached in a rude age, and the monks 
favored it; the materialistic character of European thought as- 
sisted it, and gradually it had a host of friends and was prepared 
to frown down all opposition. 

Berenger was born at Tours, near the beginning of the eleventh 
century ; he was endowed with a clear understanding ; and blessed 
with an able and pious teacher in Fulbert of Chartres. He was 
at first the principal of the Cathedral School of Tours, and after- 
wards archdeacon of Angers. Berenger adopted the views of the 
eucharist held with impunity and defended with vigor by John 
Scotus and Bertram two centuries before. But times were changed ; 
his learning, piety, and eloquence gave him extensive influence, 
and his opinions great success. This however only excited his 
enemies to o^reater furv, and made thcDi resolve to silence the srood 
archdeacon or slay him. Lanfranc, his old friend, took the side I 

of his enemies ; others proved equally conscientious or treacher- 
ous ; he was excommunicated by a Roman council, condemned by : 
all grades of dignitaries, and rescued from destruction by Gregory ' 
VII. Through his protection he spent his last years in peace. 
Gregory called upon the Archbishop of Tours and the Bishop of 
Angers, to defend him against his enemies ; and he granted him a 
Bull, excommunicating those who should injure him in person or 
estate or call him '^ Heretic." Those favors made some doubt 



* Neander, iii. p. 501. Boston, 1869. 

•j- Da Pin, ii. 84. Dublin, 1724. 

:}: Bingham's "Antiquities," book xv, chap. 5, sec. 4. 



186 TRANSUBSTANTIATION FIRST APPLIED TO THE MASS. 

Gregory's orthodoxy ; * and with reason. Gregory was a man of 
unequalled intellect, and could quickly detect the absurdity of 
transubstantiation. Besides, that doctrine though very popular 
in the eleventh century, was not yet a dogma of the Church ; and it 
was only two hundred years old. Berenger denying transubstan- 
tiation to his social friends, passed the evening of his days, " ad- 
mired for innumerable good qualities, and especially for humility 
and almsgiving.'' 

THE NAME TRANSUBSTANTIATION FIRST APPLIED TO THE MASS. 

The eucharist had been known by several new names after the 
days of Radbert. Transitio was one of these. Hildebert of Tours, 
the famous city of Berenger, gave it its immortal name — transub- 
'stantiation.f 

The Wafer. 

The eucharistic bread of the Romish Church consists of cakes of 
meal and water, small, round and thin, in the shape of wafers. 
This style appears to have been brought into general use after the 
rise of the controversy with the Greek Church, in A. D. 1053.t 

TRANSUBSTANTIATION IS INCORPORATED INTO THE CHURCH OF 

ROME. 

In A. D. 1215, Innocent III. was pope. He was a man of dis- 
tinguished talents. From childhood, he had suspended his com- 
mon sense when thinking about Radbert's doctrine. He knew 
that it was in no creed, canon, or authorized standard of the 
Church of which he was the head. He felt that it was absurd to 
require men to receive a doctrine to which the Church had never 
given that adoption so freely conceded to other dogmas not half so 
momentous. He assembled a Council in Rome, in the Lateran 
Church, A. D. 1215, consisting of 412 bishops, in whose hearing 
he read seventy canons which he had drawn up, and in which 
they seemed to acquiesce ; among these w^as the famous canon, 
which, FOR THE FIRST TIME, gave transubstantiation a legal 

* Du Pin li. 196, 197. Dublin, 1734. 

f Hagenbach's " History of Doctrines," vol. ii. p. 95. New York, 1862. 

X Riddle's " Christian Antiquities," p. 589. London, 1843. 



THE MASS A PROPITIATORY SACRIFICE. 187 

place in the Catholic Church. The important part of the canon 
is : * " But there is one universal Church of the faithful, out of 
which no one at all is saved ; in which Jesus Christ himself is at 
once priest and sacrifice ; whose body and blood, in the sacrament 
of the altar, are truly contained under the species of bread and 
wine, which, through the divine power, are transubstantiated, the 
bread into the body, and the wine into the blood ; that for the ful- 
filment of the mystery of unity, w^e may receive of his that which 
he received of ours." 

The Mass is declared a propitiatory Sacrifice, 

The Council of Trent, nearly 350 years later, took another step, 
and declared the host an atoning sacrifice : t ''And, since in the 
divine sacrifice which is performed in the mass, the same Christ is 
contained and offered in an unbloody manner, who, on the altar of 
the cross, offered himself, with blood, once for all ; the holy Synod 
teaches that that sacrifice is, and becomes of itself, truly propitia- 
tory, so that if, with a true heart and right faith, with fear and 
reverence, we approach to God, contrite and penitent, we may ob- 



* Una vero est fidelinm iiniversalis ecclesia extra qnam nullus omniuo sal- 
vatur. Iq qua idem ipse sacerdos et sacriticium Jesus Cliristus ; ejus corpus 
et sanguis in sacr 'mento altaris sub speciebus panis et vini veraciter continen- 
tur ; transubstantiatis, pane in corpus, vino insanguinem, potestate divino, ut 
ad perficiendum mysterium unitatis accepiamus ipsi de suo quod accepit de 
nostro. — Gone. xi. 143, Labbe and Cossart. Paris, 1671-2. 

f Et quoniam in divino hoc sacrificio quod in missa peragitur, idem ille 
Cliristus coutinetur et incruente immolatur, qui in ara crucis seniel se ipsum 
cruente obtulit ; docet sancta S5'nodus, sacrificium istud vere propitiatorium 
esse, per ipsumque fieri, ut, si cum vero corde et recta fide, cum motu et reve- 
rentia, contriti ac pcenitentes ad Deum accedamus, misericordiam consequa- 
mur, et gratiam inveniamus in auxilio opportuno. Hujus quippe oblations 
placatus Dominiis, gratiam, et donum poenitentise concedens, crimina et 
peccata, etiam ingentia, dimittit. Una enim eaderaque est hostia, idemque 
nunc oflFerens sacerdotum ministerio, qui se ipsum tunc in cruce obtulit, sola 
offerendi ratione diversa ; cujus quidem oblationis cruentae, inquam, Iructus 
per banc incruentam uberrime percipiuntur ; tantum abest, ut illi per banc 
quovis modo derogetur. Quare non solum pro fidelium vivorum peccatis, 
pcenis, satisfactionibus, et aliis necessitatibus, sed et pro defunctis in Christo, 
nondnm ad plenum purgatis, rite, juxta apostolorum traditionem, offertur. — 
Doci. de Sac. MissoB, chap. ii. sess. 22, Can. et Becr.^ p. 118. Lipsise, 1863. 



188 CHRIST IN THE MASS, SOUL, BODY AND DIVINITY. 

tain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The Lord, for- 
sooth, being apj)eased by the offering of this, and granting grace 
and the gift of repentance, remits crimes and sins, even great ones; 
for it is one and the same host, the same person now offering by 
ilie ministry of the priests, who then offered himself upon the cross, 
only in a different manner of offering ; and by this unbloody sacri- 
fice, the fruits of that bloody one are abundantly received ; only far 
be it that any dishonor should be done to that by this. Where- 
fore, according to the tradition of the apostles, offering is duly 
made, not only for the sins, pains, satisfactions, and other necessi- 
ties of the faithful who are alive, but also for the dead in Christ, 
who are not yet wholly cleansed.^' 

Christ is in the Mass, Soul, Body, and Divinity. 

The Synod of Trent says : * "If any one shall deny that in the 
sacrament of the most holy eucharist, there is contained really, 
truly, and substantially, the body and blood, together with the 
soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so whole Christ, 
but shall say he is only in it in sign, or figure, or power, let him 
be accursed. ^^ This curse falls harmlessly upon the whole Chris- 
tian world, including Eoman popes, for more than eight cen- 
turies. 

There are no Bread and Wine in the 3Iass after Consecration. 

The fathers at Trent declare that : f " If any shall say that in 
the holy sacrament of the eucharist, there remains the substance of 
bread and wine, together with the body and blood of our Lord 



^ Si quis negaverit, in saactissimee eucharistise sacramento contineri vere, 
realiter, et substantialiter, corpus et saiiguinem una cum anima et divinitate 
Domini nostri Jesu Cliristi, ac proinde totum Christum ; sed dixerit, tantum- 
modo esse in eo, ut in signo, vel figura, aut virtute ; anathema sit. — De Eu- 
charis. can. i. sess. 13, Gan. et Deer. Cone. Trid. Lipsise, 1863. 

f Si quis dixerit, in sacrosancto eucharistise sacramento reinanere substan- 
tiam panis, et vini, una cum corpore et sanguine Domini nostri Jesu Christi ; 
negaveritque mirabilem illam, et singularem conversionem to tins substantige 
panis in corpus, et totius substantiae vini in sanguinem, manentibus dumtaxat 
speciebus panis, et vini ; quam quidem conversionem Cathohca EccJesia ap- 
tissime transubstantionem appellat ; anathemasit. — De Eucliaris.^ can. ii. sess. 
13, Can. et Decret., p. 64. Lipsise, 1863. 



THE EUCHARIST WORSHIPPED AS A DEITY. 189 

Jesus Christ, and shall deny that wonderful and remarkable con- 
version of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of 
the whole substance of the wine into the blood, while only the ap- 
pearance of bread and luine remains, which conversion the Catho- 
lic Church most appropriately names transubstantiation ; let him 
be accursed.'^ 

A ivhole Christ in every particle of the 3fass. 

The Tridentine Council says : * "If any one shall deny that 
Christ entire is contained in the venerable sacrament of tlie euclia- 
rist, under each species and, when they are divided, under every 
particle of each kind ; let him be accursed.'' 

The Eucharist Worshipped as God. 

The Council of Trent asserts that : f " There is, therefore, no 
reason to doubt but that all Christ's faithful people, in their vene- 
ration, should render this most holy sacrament the SAME WOR- 
SHIP which is due to the true God, according to the custom which 
the Catholic Church has always received." 

A Day Appointed to Commemorate and Worship the Body of 
{Eucharist) Christ. 

In A. D. 1264, Urban IV. set apart Corpus Christi (body of 
Christ) day in honor of the deity, adopted into the Church A. D. 
1215, by Innocent III. and the Fourth Council of the Lateran ; J 
the wheaten god. According toDu Pin, § Urban's institution was 
confirmed by the Council of Vienne, A. D. 1311, and Clement V. 
This transubstantiated god is a novelty in the Church of Jesus. 



'" Si quis negaverit in venerabili sacramento eucharistise sub unaquaque 
specie, et sub singulis cujusque speciei partibus, separatione facta, totum 
Christum contineri ; anathema sit. — Id., can. iii. p. 64. 

t Nullus itaque dubitandi locus relinquitur, quin omnes Christi fideles pro 
more in Catholica ecclesia semper recepto latrise cultum, qui vero Deo debe- 
tur, huic sanctissimo sacramento in veneratione exhibeant. — De Euc7iar., cap. 
V. sess. xiii. p. 61, Can. et Beer. Cone. Trid. Lipsiae, 1863. 

X Hagenbach's Hist, of Doctrines, vol. ii. p. 95. New York, 1863. 

§ Du Pin, vol. ii. p 545. Dublin, 1724. 



190 THE EUCHARIST CARRIED IN PROCESSION. 

The Eucharist carried around in Procession for Worship. 

The Council of Trent declares that * " The church of God has 
very piously and religiously introduced the custom that in every 
year, on some special feast day, this illustrious and venerable 
sacrament should be celebrated with particular veneration and 
solemnity, and that it should be carried about in procession, in a 
reverent and honorable manner, through the highways and public 
places.'^ 

The following description of the annual procession of the host is 
a specimen of what occurred for centuries in the old world : f 
" The Corpus Christ! procession begins to move out exactly at nine 
in the morning ; it consists of forty communities of friars who have 
converts in this town. They follow one another in two lines, ac- 
cording to established precedent. Next appears the long train of 
relics belonging to the cathedral, in vases of gold and silver : a 
tooth of St. Christopher, an agate cup belonging to Clement, the 
successor of St. Peter, an arm of St. Bartholomew, a head of one 
of the eleven thousand virgins, a part of St. Peter's body, and of 
the bodies of St. Lawrence and St. Blaise, a thorn from the 
Saviour's crown, a fragment of the true cross, and the bones of 
several other saints. Then the prebendaries and canons, attended 
by inferior ministers. The streets are profusely decorated and are 
shaded with a thick awning; they are covered with rushes. Un- 
der these circumstances, the appearance of the host in the streets is 
exceedingly imposing. Encircled by jewels of the greatest bril- 
liancy, surrounded by lighted tapers, and enthroned on the massive 
yet elegant temple of silver, no sooner has it moved to the door 
of the church than the bells announce its presence with deafening 
sound, the bands of military music mix their animating notes with 
the solemn hymns of the singers, clouds of Incense rise before the 



* Pie et religiose admodnm in Dei ecelesiaminductum fuisse liunc morem, 
ut singulis annis peculiari quodam et festo die prgecelsum lioc et venerabile 
sacramentum singulari veneratione ac solemnitate cclebraretur, iitque in pro- 
cessionibus reverenter et honorifice illud per vias et loca publica circumfer- 
retur. — Be Euchar.. cap. v. sess. xiii. p. 61 ; Can. et Deer. Cone. Trid.^ p. 61. 
Lipsige, 1863. 

f Doblado's Letters from Spain, pp. 268, 374. 



A PRIEST MAY CHANGE BREAD INTO THE REAL BODY. 191 

moving shrine, and the ear is thrilled by the loud voice of com- 
mand and by the clash of the arms which the kneeling soldiers 
strike down to the ground. When the concealed bearers of the 
shrine present it at the top of the long street, where the route com- 
mences, the multitudes which crowd both the pavement and the 
windows fall prostrate in profound adoration, without venturing to 
rise up till the object of their awe is out of sight.'^ 

Procession of the Host to the Sick. 

In Spain it. was customary for a priest in taking the eucharist 
to the dying to be carried in '' o, sedan chair and to be attended 
by a party of soldiers and a bellman. The bellman, as they pass 
along, gives three strokes, in allusion to the three persons of the 
Trinity, and then ceases. "^ At this well known sound, whatever be 
the state of the weather or the condition of the streets, every one 
drops on his knees, and continues in this devout posture till the 
object of his adoration is out of siglit. If the procession should 
pass a theatre or a festive gathering, the actors on the stage imme- 
diately drop on their knees, and so do the dancers in the ball-room." 

Incense and the Eucharist. 

There is no trace of the use of incense at the Lord's Supper be- 
fore the end of the sixth century, f 

A Minister lAving in the Greatest Iniquity can make Jesus Christ 
out of Flour and Water. 

The Council of Trent says : J ^' If any one shall declare that a 
minister, in mortal sin, cannot perform or confer a sacrament, pro- 
vided he shall observe all the essentials which appertain to the 
performing or conferring a sacrament ; let him be accursed.'^ Truly 
the thought is curious that right reverend Judas, even at the 

* Limborcli, p. 533. 

t Riddle's " Ghristian Antiquities," p. 600. London, 1843. 

X Se qnis dixerit, rainistrum, in peccato mortali existentem, modo omnia 
essentialia, quae ad sacramentum conficiendum aut conferendum pertinent, 
servaverit, non conficere aut conferre sacramentum ; anathema sit — De Sac- 
ramentis^ can. xii., Con. ct Deer. Gone. Trid., p. 43. Lipsiae, 1863. 



192 HALF COMMUNION DEXOTJXCED BY POPES. 

time Satan entered him, and filled him with mortal sin, could re- 
generate a man by baptism or manufacture the Saviour out of 
wheat and water ! And yet no priest out of the mortal sin of inex- 
cusable ignorance, and in the fear and love of Christ, would be 
likely to continue long the deity-making business, or the office of 
imparting the other papal sacraments. So that the admission of 
mortal sinners into the calling of dispensing the sacraments is 
politic, and indespensably necessary. 

HALF C0MMU:N^I0X. 

For the first twelve hundred years the faithful of both sexes 
regularly and without question received the eucharist under the 
forms of bread and wine."^ Transubstantiation, teaching the peo- 
ple that the cup was tlie blood that flowed through the Saviour's 
physical heart, inspired them and their priests with horror lest a 
drop of it should fall on the ground, or hang on a layman's beard ; 
it was unquestionably the prime cause why the cup was taken 
fi:'om the laity. It is of course still used in celebrating mass, and 
regularly emptied by the priest, but tasted by no one else. 

Tioo Popes denounce Half Communion. 

Gelasius complains : f " That some received the bread, but ab- 
stained from the cup ; whom he condemns as guilty of supersti- 
tion, and orders that they should either recieve in both hinds, or 
else be excluded from both, because one and the same mystery 
cannot he divided without grand sacrilege.'' Leo the Great de- 
nounces them with equal vehemence : J " They receive the body of 
Christ,'' says he, ^' with unworthy mouth, but refuse to drink the 

* Bingham, book xv. chap. v. sec. 1. 

f Comperimiis quod qiiidam sumpta taiitummodo corporis sacri portione, a 
calice sacri cruoris ahstiueant. Qui proculdnbio, quia nescio qua supersti- 
tione docentur obstringi aut integra eacramenta percipiant, aiit iutegris arce- 
antnr ; quia divisio unius ejusdemque mysterii sine grandi sacriligio non po- 
test provenire. — Gelas., de G on seer at . Dist. ii. cap. 12. 

X Ore iudigno corpus Christi accipiunt, sanguinem an tern redemptionis 
iiostrae haurire omnino declinant . . . .quorum deprehensa fuerit sacrilega simu- 
latio, notati et prohibiti a sanctorum societate sacredotali auctoritate pellan- 
tur. — Leo. Ser., 4, de Quadragesima. 



CO.UNCIL OF CONSTANCE TAKES CUP FROM LAITY. 193 

blood of our redemption, such men's sacrilegious dissimulation 
being discovered, let them be marked, and by the authority of the 
priesthood cast out of the society of the faithful/' Gelasius was a 
respectable pontiff, but Leo the Great deserved his title : he was 
one of the ablest churchmen, and most celebrated popes that ever 
lived, and his condemnation of half communion in Catholic eyes 
should strip it of all authority. 

The Council of Constance decrees that the Laiiy shall not have the 
Cup in the EuchoHst. 

In A. D. 1215, the synod of Constance prohibited the cup to 
the laity in the following words :".... and in like manner, * 
though this sacrament was received in the primitive Church by the 
faithful under both hinds, yet to escape any dangers and scandals, 
the custom has reasonably been introduced, that it be received by 
the officiating persons under both kinds, but by the laity only under 
the hind of bread.^^ .... Fourteen hundred years after the 
eucharist was instituted, a body of bishops burn Christ's two great 
servants, John Huss and Jerome of Prague; and destroy half 
of his own glorious image in the Lord's Supper. 

TRENT AND THE PROHIBITION OF THE CUP. 

The Council of Constance could not mutilate the Lord's Supper 
and make men satisfied with the sacrilegious change. After its 
impious alterations of divine institutions, and diabolical burnings 
were over, agitation about the forbidden cup shook Europe, and a 
hundred years later it was just as active as ever. Soon after the 
assembling of the Council of Trent, which met A. D. 1545, demands 
came in by almost every mail for the cup, not from Protestants ; 
they had it already; but from Catholics; from the Emperor 
Charles V., Ferdinand, his brother, Charles IX., King of France, 



* Et similiter, quod licet in primitiva ecclesia hujusmodi sacrainentum re- 
ciperetur a fidelibns snb ntraque specie, tamen hsec consnetudo ad evitan- 
dnm aliqna pericula et scandala est rationabiliter introducta, quod a confici 
entibus snb utraqiie specie, et a laicis tantummodo snb specie panis snscipia 
tur. — Cone. xiii. 100 1, Labbe and Cossart. Paris, 1671-2. 
13 



I 94 THE WORDS WHICH CHANGE THE WAFER INTO CHRIST. 

the Duke of Bavaria, and from a multitude in all classes of 
society. , The result is thus expressed : * "If any one shall say, 
that by the command of God, or by the necessity of salvation, all 
and each of the faithful in Christ should partake of each species 
of the most holy sacrament of the eucharist ; let him be accursed. '' 
" If t any one shall say that the holy Catholic Church was not 
moved by just causes and reasons to communicate with laymen, 
and even clergymen not celebrating mass under the species of 
bread only ; or that in that course she has erred ; let him be 
accursed." Finally the council, perplexed by the threatening 
attitude of the leading Catholic laymen of Europe, and yet fear- 
ing to injure the authority of general synods by repealing the 
decree of the infallible Council of Constance, referred the whole 
matter to the pope : J "To give the cup to any person, nation, or 
kingdom, if fair reasons agreeable to Christian charity urged it ; 
and to fix the conditions upon which the concession should be 
granted." The popes have never exercised this discretionary 
power ; and the formal decrees of Trent have bound all Catholics 
ever since they were issued. 

The Words that change the Bread and Wine into the Body and 

Blood of Jesus. 

" By these words : § Do this in commemoration of me. Jesus 
gave his apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of 
the Church, the power to change the bread and the wine into his 
most holy body and blood. The priest blesses the bread and wine 
as Christ did ; he speaks over them the same words of consecra- 

* Si quis dixerit ex Dei prsecepto vel necessitate salntis omnes et singiilos 
Christi fideles utramqne speciem sanctissimi encharistise sacraraenti siimere 
(lebere ; anathema sit. — De Reformat , can. i. sess. xxi. p. 110, Can. et Deer. 
Cone. Trid. Lipsise, 1863. 

f Si quis dixerit, sanctam ecclesiam Catholicam non justis causis et rationi- 
bns addnctum fuisse, ut laicos atque etiam clericos non confici'^ntes snbpanis 
tantummodo specie communicaret, aut in eo errare ; anathema sit. — Id., 
can. ii. 

X Concess. Calicis, sess. xxii., Can. et Deer. Cone. Trid., p. 138. Lipsise, 
1863. 

§ Mission Book, p. 29. N. Y. 1866. 



THE MASS A NOVELTY. 195 

tion which Christ spoke; and thus the bread and wine are 
changed now on the altar, as they were at the hist supper, into 
the body and blood of Jesus Christ.'^ 

The SacriJiGe of the 3Iass a Modern Invention. 

You w^ill search in vain through all the writings of Christians, 
for the idea of transubstantiation, before the book of Paschasius 
Radbert was written in the ninth century, ^t that time the doc- 
trine met with violent opposition from all quarters, and especially 
from the first thinkers in the Christian Church, Gradually the 
idea became popular, and in the twelfth century a name was born 
for it, then in the thirteenth it was formally installed as a dogma 
of the Church. We firmly and DEFIANTLY declare TRAN- 
SUBSTANTIATIOi^ A NOVELTY; and as the whole sys- 
tem of Romanism rests upon it, that system is founded not upon 
the Rock of Ages, but the sands of earth, and it will surely perish 
in the storms destined to overthrow every scheme of error. 

The other Side. 

The Catholic version of the Scriptures makes Jesus say: "Thou 
wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thy holy 
one to see corruption.'' Acts ii. 27. Now every wafer swallowed 
by Catholics enters the physical system, and corrupts with the 
decaying body, if not sooner. Every fragment of Christ's body 
that ever entered the stomach of one of the faithful, has seen 
corruption already in the bodies of all the dead, or will see it in 
the mouldering remains of all the living. 

Every miracle of Christ was an apparent miracle ; it could be 
tested by the senses ; and the wonder had to be acknowledged by 
friend and foe. When he turned the water into wine at the wed- 
ding, let us suppose that it had the taste of water still, and its 
clear appearance ; and that he and his mother assured the festive 
company that their senses deceived them, that it was really wine. 
How many at the marriage would have believed Jesus ? Such a 
statement would have blasted the Saviour's veracity forever among 
these people. Or when he feeds the thousands with the five 
loaves and two fishes, let us suppose that the miracle is of the 



196 THE MASS IN THE LIGHT OF COMMOX SENSE. 

mass order, that there is no increase of the loaves and fishes of 
which the people have any sensible evidence. He breaks them in 
little pieces, gi'^^iiig ^ portion to each : when the hungry multi- 
tude swallow the little morsels, they cry out : '^ What folly to 
give us these atoms ! " Says Jesus : " I have magnified them by 
miracle into a sufficiency to satisfy you all.'^ ^^ You have !" they 
reply. " It looked small, it felt small, it tasted small ; and we 
are ravenously hungry as if it had been small. '^ " Ah," he re- 
plies, " but your senses, deceive you, you cannot trust them." If 
the Saviour had been capable of such a piece of imposition, 
these thousands would have Branded him as the most deceitful 
and barefaced trickster that ever tried to take advantao;e of 
human credulity. Every miracle of Jesus appeared a supernatural 
occurrence to those who beheld it. The mass shows no change. 
It appears bread, its friends say it is flesh and blood; it is cer- 
tainly a case of false appearances ; it is no miracle of Jesus. His 
were all real, visible, undoubted. 

A story is told of the celebrated Duke of Buckingham, that he 
consented to receive the ministrations of a priest during an illness. 
The duke, even in sickness, loved a joke, and as the father made 
some effort to convert him, he feigned a sort of dreamy uncon- 
sciousness of his presence. He held a cork in his hand, which he 
treated as if it were a splendid horse ; he spoke of its height, its 
action, its beauty, and addressed it as an old equine acquaintance. 
The priest tried to convince him that it was not a horse, that he 
was certainly mistaken ; that if he would look at it he would 
see it was not a horse but only a cork ; that if he would scent 
it he would learn that it was a cork ; that if he would taste it 
he would be satisfied that it was a cork ; that if he would feel 
it he would perceive it was but a cork ; that if he would listen to 
it for years he would never hear the snorts, neighing or breathing 
of a horse. The duke professed his conviction that it was only a 
cork. As conversation progressed, the eucharist was introduced, 
and the priest declared it to be Jesus Christ, soul, body, and 
divinity. The duke expressed his astonishment at the statement 
of the father ; intimated that he must be somewhat beside himself: 
for if you touch it you will understand that it is not a human 
body, if you look at it you can only receive that conviction, if yon 



A MATERIAL BODY CANJ^OT BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE. 197 

taste it you will discover nothing but water and flour ; if you 
scent it you will find no odor of flesh and blood. And he in- 
formed the father that a man must be out of his mind who 
believed a thing so contrary to his senses.* 

We receive all knowledge through our senses. If we cannot 
believe each of them in its own limited sphere, when each is in 
healthful exercise, we are not safe in believing anything. Our 
taste, touch, scent, siglit, testify that the priest's wafer is not 
Christ's body and blood, but the flour and water of the cook. He 
tells us that it is Christ's body, but he gives no evidence to esta- 
tablish the truth of his statement, except such testimony as would 
prove Christ to be a literal rock, lamb, corner-stone, sun, door, 
vine, shepherd, or morning star, between which objects and Jesus, 
in some features of his person or work, there is such a resemblance 
as led him to be called by their names ; or such evidence as would 
prove Peter, the foundation of the Komish Church, to be the 
devil. 

Were the keen old satirist living who laughed so immoderately 
at the follies of Egyptian idolatry, and who derisively compli- 
mented that people in the well-known words : f " O holy nations, 
for whom these divinities grow in the gardens ! " with what culti- 
vated, heathen scorn, he would address his degenerate Roman 
fellow citizens, and exclaim : " O happy pontiff ! O blessed 
papal fold, whose god grows in every ear of wheat, whose di- 
vinity is made by a baker and a priest, and then swallowed ! " 

The human body of Christ is in heaven ; and as no material 
substance can be in two places at one time, or in a hundred thou- 
sand places at one time, the wafer-body of Christ is an imposition, 
a plain, unmitigated counterfeit, the reception of which is not an 
act of faith, but a deed which flings away the Bible and common 
sense for an impious dogma which the Scriptures never taught, and 
a soul exercising its intelligence could not believe. 

* Seymour's '• Evenings with the Romanists,^' p. 346. K Y., 1856. 
t "0 sanctas gentes ! quibus haec nascuutur in hortis numina." — Satira 
XV., Juvenal. 



THE CONFESSIONAL 



THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE, EMBRACING CONTRITION, 
CONFESSION AND SATISFACTION. 

As the mass is the great aggregate of Romish doctrine, the con- 
fessional is the chief executive of the papal system. By it the 
decrees of the infallible Church are applied and carried out with 
an unequalled measure of minuteness and rigor. The history of 
the confessional is of the highest moment. 

Secret Confessions in the Ear of a Priest, to secure his Absolution, 
were entirely unknown in the early Churches. 

Of course, there are confessions of sin made to Protestant minis- 
ters now, and such avowals were common in the experience of the 
early clergy. But they were wholly voluntary when given, and 
they were not general. 

Chrysostom says : * "It is not necessary that thou shouldst 
confess in the presence of witnesses ; let the inquiry after thy sins 
be made in thy own thoughts ; let this judgment be without any 
witnesses ; let God only see thee confessing.'^ In another place he 
says : f ^' Why art thou ashamed and blushing to confess thy sins ? 
Dost thou discover them to a man, that he should reproach thee ? 
Dost thou confess them to thy fellow-servant, that he should bring 
thee upon the open stage ? Thou only showest thy wound to him 
who is thy Lord, thy care-taker, thy physician, and thy friend. 

* Chrysost , Horn, de Pcenitent., t. v. f Id., Horn iv., de Lazaro, t. v. 
193 



THE FATHERS AND THE CONFESSIONAL. 199 

And he says to thee : I do not compel thee to go into the public 
theatre, and take many witnesses; confess thy sins m private to me 
alone, that I may heal thy wound, and deliver thee from thy 
grief Commenting on the words, '^ Let a man examine himself, 
and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup," Chrysos- 
tom says : * " He does not bid one man examine another, but every 
one himself, making the judgment private, and the trial without 
witnesses." Daille f has collected nearly twenty passages from 
the writings of this eloquent and orthodox father, showing that 
auricular confession had no existence in his day. 

Basil says : J " I do not make confession wdth my lips to appear 
to the world, but inwardly in my heart, where no eye sees ; the 
groanings of my heart are sufficient for confession, and the lamen- 
tations which are sent up to thee, my God, from the bottom of my 
heart." 

Ambrose says : § " Tears wash away sin which men are ashamed 
to confess with the voice ; weeping provides at once both for pardon 
and bashfulness." 

St. Augustine, expounding the words : " I said I will declare 
my own wickedness against myself unto the Lord, and so thou 
forgavest the iniquity of my heart," says : || ^^His confession was 
not yet come to his mouth, yet God heard the voice of his heart ; 
which implies that God accepts and pardons the penitent and con- 
trite heart, even before any formal declaration is made by vocal 
confession either to God or man." In his confession he speaks 
with contempt of telling his sins to human beings : Tf " What, 
therefore, have I to do with men, that they should hear my con- 
fessions, as if they could heal all my diseases ? " 

Laurentius of Xovara, in the north of Italy, who flourished A. D. 

* Cbrysost., Horn, xxviii. in 1 Cor. 

\ Daille, de Confess Auric, lib. iv. cap. 25. 

X Basil, in Psalm xxxvii. 8. 

</ Lavant lacrj^mae delictum, quod pudor est voce confiteri. Et venise 
fletus consulent et verecundiEe. — Amh.^ torn, iii., in Luc. xxii., lib. 10, p. 103. 
Coloniae, 1616. 

I Augu t., Ser. ii., in Psal. xxxi. 

^ Quid milii ergo est cum liominibus, ut audiant confessiones meas, qua?i 
ipsi sanaturi sint omnes languores meos. — Aug. Confess.., lib. x. cap. 3, vol. 
i. p. 69. Paris. 1614. 



200 



THEODOSIUS AND AMBROSE. 



507, says : * " After baptism, God has appointed thee a remedy 
within thyself; he hath put remission within thy own power, that 
thou needest not to seek a priest when necessity requires ; but thou 
thyself, now, as a skilful master always at hand, may est correct 
thy own error ydthin thyself, and wash away thy sin by re- 
pentance/^ 

When Theodosias, in a fit of guilty rage, slew seven thousand 
people in Thessalonica, A. D. 390, and afterwards came to Milan, 
Ambrose refused to permit the emperor to approach the Lord's 
table or even to enter the church. He wrote him the following 
letter : f " Sin can be removed only by tears and repentance. No 
angel or archangel can forgive sin ; and the Lord himself, who only 
was able to say to us, ^ I am with you,' when we sin, forgives the sins 
of those only who come to him with repentance. Add not to the 
sin already committed still another — that of presuming to partake 
of the holy supper unworthily, which has redounded to the ruin 
of many. I have no occasion to be obstinate with you, but I have 
cause to fear for you. I dare not distribute the holy elements if 
you mean to be present and receive them. Shall I venture to do 
that which I should not presume to do if the blood of one inno- 
cent individual had been poured out where the blood of so many 
innocent persons has been shed ? " For eight months the doors 
of the sacred edifice, which were open to the lowliest slave and the 
meanest beo^u^ar, were closed as^ainstthe o^reatest ruler in the world. 
At length, Ambrose, with difficulty, was persuaded to permit the 
emperor to enter, not the church, but the porch, the place of the 
public penitents ; and, stripped of the insignia of royalty, prostrate 
on the pavement, beating his breast, tearing his hair, watering the 
ground with his tears, the conqueror in many battles obtained 
absolution. J 

During these eight months Theodoret says : " The emperor shut 



* Post baptisma remediuQi tuum in teipso statuit, remissionem in arbitrio 
tuo posuit, nt non quseras sacerdotem, cum necessitas flagitaverit : sed ipse 
jam, ac si scitiis perspicnusqne magisler, errorem tuum intra te emendes, et 
peccatum tuum poenitudine abluas. — Laurent., llom. de Pcenit., Bibl. t. 3, p. 
129. 

t Neander, ii. 181, 182. Boston, 1868. 

X Milman's " History of Christianity,'' p. 412. New York, 1841. 



PENANCES IN THE EAELY CHURCH. 201 

himself up in his palaces, mourned bitterly, and shed floods of 
tears/^ He appealed to Ambrose, "By the mercy of our common 
Lord, to unloose from him these bonds, and not to shut against him 
the door which is opened by the Lord to all who truly repent ;'' 
and then, as a proof of his sincerity, Ambrose required him to 
make a law to cancel all decrees in future made in haste and anger ; 
and that when sentence of death or proscription is passed against 
any one thirty days shall elapse before it is executed, at the expi- 
ration of which the matter is to be reconsidered and settled.* 
During all this long period Theodosius never saw Ambrose, or any 
priest, or entered any confessional. He performed the penance 
customary in those days, and he was restored to church privi- 
leges. 

The learned Bingham says that : f " AYhen the crimes of great 
and heinous sinners were public, notorious, and scandalous, they 
were required to go through a long course of penance publicly in 
the church. As to private crimes, they laid no necessity upon the 
consciences of men to make either public or private confession of 
them to any beside God.'^ 

PENANCES IN THE EARLY CHURCH. 

About A. D. 390, in Rome there was a place appointed for the 
reception of penitents, where they stood mourning during the public 
service, from which they were excluded. They cast themselves 
upon the ground with groans and lamentations ; the bishop who 
conducts the ceremony prostrates himself and w^eeps ; the people 
burst into tears and groan aloud ; then the bishop rises J from his 
humble position and summons up the people, and after praying for 
the penitents he dismisses them. This custom, with slight changes, 
was universal. 

Different Classes of Penitents. 

Some were only candidates, seeking to be admitted into the list 
of ecclesiastical penitents : their place was at the church door, 

* Theodoret's Eccl. Hist., lib. v. cap. 18. 

f Bingham'? Antiquities, book xv. chap. 8, ss. 5, 6. 

X Sozomen's Eccl. Hist., lib. vii. cap. 16. 



202 PENITENTS IN THE EARLY CHURCH. 

when, clothed in sackcloth, and covered with filthiness and horror, 
they lay prostrate, begging the prayers of the faithful, as they en- 
tered the sacred edifice, and entreating to be numbered with those 
to whom the church proposed, at some period, to extend forgive- 
ness. Speaking of these, Tertullian says : * " The exomologesis 
is the discipline of a man's humbling and prostrating himself 
.... It obliges a man to change his clothing and his food, to lie 
in sackcloth and ashes, to defile his body by neglect of dress 
and ornament, to afflict his soul with sorrow, .... to groan 
and weep and cry unto the Lord God, day and night, to prostrate 
himself before the presbyters of the church, to kneel before the 
friends of God, and beg of all the brethren that they would be- 
come petitioners for his pardon.'^ Here was a very public confes- 
sion, but nothing like the confessional of the popes. 

The second class of penitents was called Hearers ; they were 
allowed to pass through the discipline appointed for testing those 
who professed sorrow for some notorious ofPence. They were 
placed in the narthex or lowest part of the church, and were al- 
lowed to hear the Scriptures read and the sermon, but had to retire 
before the commencement of the common prayers. 

The third class of penitents was designated Prostrators. These 
persons knelt around the pulpit in humble reverence, while all the 
people prayed for them, and the bishop gave them the imposition 
of hands and his benediction. 

The fourth class was known as Bystanders. They were al- 
lowed to remain throughout the entire service, including the ob- 
servance of the Lord's Supper, but they were not permitted to 
present the ordinary gifts donated by the faithful on the Lord's 
day, or to partake of the eucharist. There was a class of people 
so execrably Avicked that Tertullian says of them : f " There 

* Itaque exomologesis prosternendi et liumilificandi hoininis disciplina 
est .... De ipso quoque habitu atque victu maiidat, sacco et cineri incn- 
bare, corpus sordibus obscurare, animum mcerorbius dejicere .... ingemis- 
cere, lacrimari et mugire dies noctesque ad Dominum Deum tuum, piesby- 
teris advolvi, et caris Dei adgeniculari, omnibus fratribus legaliones depreca- 
tionis suae injungere. — Tertul:^ de Pceniten., cap. ix. p. 58. Lipsise, 1839. 

f Reliquas autem libidinum furiasimpias et in corpora et in sexus ultra jura 
naturae, non modo limine verum omni ecclesiae tecto submovemus, quia non 
sunt delicta, sed monstra. — TurtuL, de Pudici., cap. iv. p. 140. Lipsise, 1839. 



PENANCE PERFORMED ONLY TWICE. 203 

were some impious furies of lust so far transgressing all the laws of 
nature, both with respect to bodies and sex, that they not only 
expelled them from the doors of the church, but from every cov- 
ered place belonging to it, as being monsters rather than common 
vices/^ 

Penance seldom permitted Twice in the early Churches. 

Tertullian called one penance after baptism the second, regard- 
ing the repentance of baptism as the first, and he was satisfied 
that there should be no third penance. His words are : * ^' God 
has placed in the vestibule of the church, a second repentance 
which opens to those that knock : but now only once, because 
now, a second time ; never more, because the last was vain and to 
no purpose.'^ Ambrose saysif "They are deservedly reproved 
who think of doing penance often, because they grow wanton 
against Christ ; for if they did penance truly, they would not think 
it should be repeated ; because as there is but one baptism, so there 
is but one penance, which, moreover, is performed publicly. For 
we ought daily to be sorry for sin; but that is for lesser sins, and 
the other for greater.'^ 

Augustine says : % " Wisely and usefully it was provided that 
there should be a place for that humblest penance but once in the 
church, lest the medicine becoming contemptible, should be- less 
useful to the sick." Siricius, Pope of Rome in the fourth century, 
says : " Forasmuch as they, who after penance, return like dogs to 
their vomit, or swine to their wallowing in the mire, cannot have 
the benefit of a second penance, we decree that they shall commu- 

* Collocavit in vestibule poenitentiam secundam, quae pulsantibus pate- 
faciat ; sed jam semel, quia jam secundo ; sed amplius nunquam, quia prox- 
ime frustra. — Tertul., de Foeniten., cap. vii. p. 57. Lipsiae, 1839. 

f Merito reprehenduntur, qui saepius agendam poenitentiam putant, quia 
luxuriantur in Christo : nam si vere agerent poenitentiam, iterandam esse 
non putarent : quia sicut unum baptisma, ita una poenitentia, quae tamen pub- 
lice agitur. Nam quotidian! nos debet pcenitere peccati ; sed baec delictorum 
leviorum, ilia graviorum. — Amb. de Panit.^ tom. iv. lib. ii. cap. x. p. 198. 
Coloniae, 1616. 

X Caute salubriterque provisum, ut locus illiusliumillimae poenitentiae semel 
in ecclesia concedatur, ne medicina vilis minus utilis esset aegrotis. — Ep. 54, 
ad Maced., p. 92, tom. ii. Paris 1614. 



204 THE PENITENTIARY CONFESSOR. 

nicate with the faithful in prayer only, and be present at the cele- 
bration of the eucharist, but not partake of the feast at the Lord's 
table." * Here there was no weekly or annual confession with its 
penances ; once after baptism this grievous duty might be per- 
formed, but generally, for a length of time, that ended penances 
and public confessions for life. 

The Severity of Penance, 

For some sins men were required to do penance during the 
whole of their lives, and absolution was only granted them in 
death. And should they recover, after having received it, they 
were compelled to resume their old position of shame and sorrow. 
The common course of penance consigned men for ten, fifteen, or 
twenty years to its various humiliating stages. f So that to repeat 
such a process would have required a considerable life, as well as a 
change in church regulations. 

The Penitentiary Confessor, 

About A. D. 250, there were many who had fallen from the 
faith through the fierce persecution of Decius. Among these, 
there were persons of different grades of criminality. And as public 
penance v/as the universal law of the churches for each notorious 
offender, a minister was designated in all centres of Christian popu- 
lation to hear the crimes of apostates, that they might be able to 
take their proper place among the sad ones at the church doors, or 
inside the porch, or near the pulpit on their knees, according to 
the grade of their sinfulness. One presbyter attended to this duty 
for all Constantinople in A. D. 390 ; for the office survived the 
scenes which called it into life, and continued to fix the grade of 
public penitents. A noble lady who had visited the penitentiary 
presbyter, was unfortunate in the church vv^ith a deacon ; the public 

* De his, qui, acta poenitentia, tanquam canes et sues, ad vomitos pristinos 
et ad volutabra redeunt, quia jam suffugium non habent poenitendi, id duxi- 
mus decernendum, ut sola inter ecclesiam fidelibus oratione jungantur ; sacris 
mysteriorum celebritatibus, quamvis non mereantur, intersint ; a Dominic£C 
autem raensse convivio segregentur. — Siric, ep. i. ad Hemerium, cap. v. 

t Bingham's Antiquities, book xviii. chap. 4, sec. 2. 



FORM OF ABSOLUTION IN THE EARLY CHURCH. 205 

became indignant against the semi-confessional, and Nectarius, the 
bishop, abolished the office.* This Avas the first instance of the 
suppression of this odious institution; but Sozomen tells us that 
the example was followed by the bishops of every region. f 

Absolution in the early Church for public Confessing Penitents. 

After the long, distressing penance was completed, the candidate 
for restoration knelt down between the knees of the bishop ; or, 
in his absence, between those of the presbyter, who, laying his 
hand upon his head, solemnly blessed and absolved him. The 
people received him with transports of joy, as one escaped from the 
coils of the old serpent, and he was restored to participation in the 
Lord's Supper. J 

The Form of Absolution, 

They were received into communion with imposition of hands, 
and the prayer of the whole church for them. The following 
prayer of absolution, from the Apostolical Constitutions, is pro- 
bably as old as the fourth century : 

" O Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, thou shepherd 
and lamb, that takest away the sins of the world, that forgavest 
the debt to the two debtors, and grantedst remission of sins to the 
sinful Avoman, and gavest to the sick of the palsy both a cure and 
a pardon of sins, remit, blot out, and pardon our sins, both volun- 
tary and iuA'oluntary, AA^hatever Ave have done Avittingly or uuAvit- 
tingly, by transgression and disobedience, AA^hich thy spirit knows 
better than Ave ourselves. And Avhereinsoever thy servants have 
erred from thy commandments, in AA^ord or deed, as men carrying 
flesh about them, and living in the Avorld, or seduced by the 
instigation of Satan, or whatever curse or peculiar anathema they 
are fallen under, I pray and beseech thine ineffable goodness to ab- 
solve them Avith thy Avord, and remit their curse and anathema, 
according to thy mercy. O Lord and master, hear my prayer for 
thy servants ; thou that forgettest injuries, overlook all their 
failings, pardon their offences, both voluntary and involuntary, 

* Socrates, lib. y. cap. 19. f Sozomen, lib. vii. cap. 16. 

X Cave's " Primitive Christianity," p. 347. Oxford, 1840. 



206 THE CONFESSIONAL IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 

and deliver them from eternal punishment. For thou art he that 
hast commanded us, saying : Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth 
shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth 
shall be loosed in heaven : because thou art one God, the God that 
canst have mercy and forgive sins ; and to thee, witli the eternal 
Father, and the quickening Spirit, belongs glory, now and for- 
ever, world without end. Amen.^^ * A form of absolution like 
this existed for centuries in all parts of the Christian world. Car- 
dinal Bona and Illyricus published an old Latin Missal about two 
centuries ago, with this absolution : f " He that forgave the sinful 
woman all her sins, for which she shed tears, and opened the gates 
of paradise to the thief upon a single confession, make you partakers 
of his redemption, and absolve you from all the bond of your sins, 
and heal those infirm members by the medicine of his mercy, and 
restore them to the body of his holy Church by his grace, and keep 
them whole and sound forever.^^ 

It is absolutely certain that the form of absolution : '' I absolve 
you (absolvo te),'' was not known in the practice of Christians till 
the commencement of the thirteenth century. It was, down to 
that period, a prayer to God for remission and absolution. Thomas 
Aquinas, about the year 1250, was one of the first who wrote in 
defence of the form : " I absolve thee.'' In his day, the expression 
excited opposition, and was an undoubted novelty.J 

THE CONFESSIONAL IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 

Isidore of Seville, speaking of this practice in the early part 
of the seventh century says : " There are two kinds of confes- 
sion (exomologesis), the one of praise, the other of sins ; and both 
the one and the other are chiefly made to God.''§ Hincmar, a lead- 

* Const., lib. viii. cap. 9 et39. 

f Qui mulieri peccatrici omnia peccata diraisit lacrymanti, et lalroni ad 
unam confessionem claustra aperuit paradisi, ipse vos redemptioiiis suae par- 
ticipes ab omni vinculo peccatorum absolvat, et membra aliquatenus debili- 
tata medicina misericordise sanata, corpori sanctse ecclesise redeunte gratia 
restituat, atque in perpetuum custodiat. — Bona Rev. Liturg.^ in Appendice, 
p. 763. 

X Bingham, Appendix, Letter 2. 

§ Du Pin, vol. ii. p. 2. Dublin, 1724. 



CONFESSION OF SIN" IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 207 

ing French bishop of the ninth century says : " Our light and 
daily sins, according to the exhortation of St. James, are daily to 
be confessed to those that are our equals : and such sins, we may 
believe, will be cleansed by their daily prayers, and our own acts 
of piety, if with a charitable mind, we truly say in the Lord's 
prayer : Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that tres- 
pass against us." * 

The second Council of Chalons, in A. D. 813, in its thirty-third 
canon declares : f " Some say that we ought to confess our sins to 
God alone ; others affirm that they ought to be confessed to priests : 
both are done with great benefit in the holy church ; so that we 
confess our sins to God, who does forgive them ; and according to 
the apostle's institution, we confess them to each other and pray 
for each other that we may be saved. So that the confession made 
to God purges from sin ; and that which is made to the priest 
informs us hoiv ive ought to be purged from themJ^ ' ' * Here it is 
boldly asserted that God only forgives sins, that he pardons them 
through no priest, and that the priest only shows the way to 
Christ, the cleansing fountain. 

Lanfranc, who became Archbishop of Canterbury in A. D. 1070, 
in a tract on the secrecy of confession, says : J ^' The confes- 
sion ofpublie sins ought to be made to the priests, by whose minis- 
try the Church binds and looses that of which it takes public cog- 
nizance ; but that one may confess private sins to all the ecclesi- 
astics, and even to laymen ; since we read that there have been 
holy fathers, who were the guides of souls, though they were not 
in holy orders." Here there is no distinction between mortal 
and venial sins ; the sins considered are public iniquities, and secret 
sins, however atrocious; and according to the greatest prelate, 
except Gregory YIL, in the eleventh century, and according to a 
more learned bishop than Gregory, all private sins may be con- 
fessed to a layman. 

Ivo, Bishop of Chartres, in the early part of the twelfth century, 
expresses in his 186th letter, the opinion then beginning to become 
general : " That confession of common and small faults, may be 

* Hincmar, Ep. ad Hildeb., t. ii. n. 40, p. 688. 
f Du Pin, vol. ii. p. 106. Dublin, 1734 
^: Id., p. 202. 



208 THE COXFESSIOXAL ESTABLISHED A. D. 1215. 

made to any one, but that great offences are to be confessed only 
to those who have the power of binding and loosing." This is 
substantially the papal doctrine to-day. 

Up to A. D. 1215, the confession of sin was an optional thing in 
the Church of Rome. Xo canon or bull compelled it ; it had been 
increasing in popularity for two centuries ; it was highly recom- 
mended, but still it had no sovereign sanction, no authority to 
RULE THE ROMAN CHURCH, and in a. d. 1215, for the 
first time in papal history, 

AURICULAR COXFESSIOX WAS ESTABLISHED BY ROMISH LAW. 

Innocent III. was lord of the Christian Church at this time. 
Ambitious to establish a number of superstitions, he summoned 
the fourth Council of the Lateran, a. d. 1215, whose twenty-first 
canon reads : * " Every one of the faithful of both sexes, after he 
shall have reached years of discretion, shall, by himself alone, 
faithfully confess all his sins, at least once a year, to his own priest, 
and strive to perform according to his ability the penance imposed 
upon him, reverently partaking of the sacrament of the eucharist, 
at least at Easter ; unless, perhaps, by the advice of his priest, for 
some reasonable cause, he should judge that for a time he should 
abstain from partaking of it ; otherwise, let the living be hindered 
from entering the church, and let the dead be deprived of Christian 
burial. On this account this salutory statute shall be frequently 
published in the churches that no one may pretend as an excuse, the 
blindness of ignorance. But if any one shall wish to confess his sins 
to a foreign priest, for proper reasons, he must first ask and obtain 

* Omnis utriusqne sexus fidelis, postquam adannos discretionis pervene- 
rit, omnia sua solus peccata confiteatur lideliter saltern semel in anno proprio 
sacerdoti, et injunctam sibi poenitentiam studeat pro yiribus adiniplere, sns- 
cipiens reverenter ad minus in Pascha eucharistiae sacramentum, nisi forte 
de consilio proprii sacerdotis ob aliquam rationabilem causam ad tempus ab 
ejus perceptione duxerit abstinendum ; alioquin et yivens ab ingressu eccle- 
si.'E arceatur, et moriens Christiana careat sepultura Unde hoc salutare sta- 
tutum frequenter in ecclesiis publicetur, ne quispiam ignorantise csecitate 
velamen excusationis assumat. Si quis autem alieno sacerdoti voluerit justa 
de causa sua confiteii peccata, licentiam prius postulit et obtineat a proprio 
sacerdote, quum aliter ille ipsum non possit solvere vel ligare. — Canones et 
Decreta Goncilii Tndentini^ p. 357. Lipsiae, 1863. 



THE MODERN CONFESSIONAL. 209 

a licence from his own priest, since otherwise he would not be able 
to bind or loose liim/^ 

Calvin, though a somewhat stern man, commenting on this 
famous decree, says : " The barbarism of the diction is sufficient 
to deprive the law of all credit. For the good fathers enjoin that : 
' Every person of both sexes shall, once in each year, make a 
particular confession of all sins to the proper priest ; ' but some 
wits facetiously object, that this precept binds none but herma- 
phrodites, and relates to no one who is either a male or a female.'' 
He farther in the same connection asserts the indisputable f ict 
that: ^^It is certain from the testimony of their own histories that 
there was no fixed law, or constitution, respecting confession till 
the time of Innocent III., that its friends were accustomed to cite 
nothing older in favor of the practice than the Council of the 
Lateran." * This decree subjected those who refused it obedience 
to the worst form of excommunication ; which in that age meant 
a horrible death and the confiscation of all property. It was the 
darkest age of the last two thousand years in culture and morals, 
and fitly gave birth to transubstantiation, the confessional and the 
inquisition. The confessional had its church birth not an hour 
earlier than A. d. 1215. 

THE MODERN CONFESSIONAL. 

The confessional as it exists to-day is chiefly the work of the 
fathers of Trent, and those who lived in the age immediately 
after. That synod issued the following canons on penance : 

" If any one shall deny t that three acts are required for the 
whole and perfect remission of the sins of a penitent, as the sub- 
stance of the sacrament of penance, that is to say contrition, con- 
fession and satisfaction, which are called the three parts of 

"* Institutes, lib. iii. cap. 4. 

f Si quis negaverit ad integram et perfectam peccatonim remissionem re- 
quiri tres actus in poenitente, quasi materiam sacramenti poenitentioe, vide- 
licet contriti-onem, confessionem et satisfactionem, quse tres poenitentiae 
partes dicuntur; ant dixerit, duas tantum esse poenitentiae partes, terrores in- 
cussos scilicet conscientige agnito peccato, et fidem conceptam ex evangelic 
vel absolutione, qua credit quis sibi per Christum remissa peccata ; ana- 
thema sit. 
14 



210 CONFESSION NECESSARY TO SALVATION. 

penance ; or shall say that there are only two parts of penance, 
the terrors struck in the conscience Avhen the sin is avowed, and 
the faith concieved from the gospel or absolution, by which any 
one believes that through Christ his sins are remitted ; let him be 
accursed/^ 

^^ If any one shall deny * that sacramental confession was either 
instituted by divine autliority, or that it is necessary to salvation ; 
or shall say that the secret mode of confessing to a priest alone, 
Avhich the Catholic Church has always observed from the begin- 
ning, and still observes, is foreign to the institution and appoint- 
ment of Christ, and is a human invention ; let him be accursed." 

" If any one shall sayf that in the sacrament of penance it is not 
necessary by divine command, for the remission of sins, to confess 
all and every mortal sin, of which recollection may be had, with 
due and diligent premeditation, even secret offences, and those 
which are against the last two precepts of the decalogue, and the 
circumstances which change the species of sin; but that this con- 
fession is useful only, for instructing and consoling the penitent, 
and was formerly observed only for imposing canonical satisfaction, 
or shall say that those who desire to confess all their sins, wish 
to leave nothing for the divine mercy to pardon ; or finally that 
it is not lawful to confess venial sins ; let him be accursed.'^ 

Butler's Catechism says : J " The chief mortal sins are seven : 
pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth." 

* Si quis negaverit, confessionem sacramental em vel institutam, vel ad sa- 
lutem necessariam esse jure divino ; aut dixerit, modum secrete confident! 
soli sacerdoti, quern ecclesia catliolica ab initio semper observavit et observat, 
alienum esse ab institutione et mandato Christi, et inventum esse humanum ; 
anathema sit. — I. and II. Canons de Pcenitent , sess xiv. Cone. Trident. 

f Si quis dixerit, in sacramento prenitentige ad remissionem peccatorum 
necessarium non esse jure divino, confiteri omnia et singula peccata mor- 
talia, quorum memoria cum debita et diligenti prsemeditatione habeatur, etiam 
occulta, et quse sunt contra duo ultima decalogi pracepta, et circumstantias, 
quae peccati speciem mutant ; seel eam confessionem tantum esse utilem ad 
erudiendum et consolandum poenitentem, et olim observatam fuisse tantum 
ad satisfactionem canonicam imponendam ; aut dixerit, eos, qui omnia pec- 
cata confiteri student, nihil relinquere velle divinns misericordige ignoscen- 
dum; aut demum, non licere confiteri peccata venialia; anathema sit. — Can. 
vii. sess, xiv., Cone. Trident. 

X Butler's Catechism, p. 27. Philad'a. ed. 



CANONS ON THE CONFESSIONAL. 211 

"If any one shall say * that sacramental absolution, by a priest, is 
not a judicial act, but a mere ministry to pronounce and declare 
that sins are remitted to the person making confession, provided 
that he only believes that he is absolved, even though the priest 
should not absolve seriously but in joke ; or shall say that the 
confession of a penitent is not required that the priest may absolve 
him ; let him be accursed/^ 

" If any one shall say f that the whole penalty together with the 
guilt is always remitted by God, and that the satisfaction of peni- 
tents is no other thing than the faith by which they apprehend that 
Christ has made satisfaction for them ; let him be accursed." 

"If any one shall say J that priests, who are in mortal sin, have 
not the power of binding and loosing, or that priests are not 
the only ministers of absolution let him be accursed." 

" The holy Synod (of Trent) § teaches that the form of the sacra- 
ment of penance, in which its force especially lies, is placed in the 
words : I absolve thee, etc." And this absolution is not in words 
merely, for the Catechism of the Council of Trent says : |i " But 
the ministers of God truly as it were absolve." And the same 
Catechism gives the priest authority for this or any other act in 
the confessional, by declaring that he represents Christ in it; and 
therefore is invested w^ith divine attributes and powers. The 
words are : " Moreover, in the priest who sits a legitimate judge 



■* Si qnis dixerit, absolntionem sacvaraentalera sacerdotis non esse actum 
judicialem, sed nudem ministerium pronunciandi et declarandi remissa esse 
peccata confitenti, modo tanliim credat se esse absolutum, aut sacerdos non 
serio, sed joco ahsolvat ; aut dixerit non requiri confessionem poenitentis, ut 
sacerdos ipsum absolvere possit : anathema sit. 

f Si quis dixerit, totam poenam simul cum culpa remitti semper a Deo, 
satisfactionemque poenitentium non esse aliam quam fidem, qua appreliendunt 
Christum pro eis satisfecisse ; anathema sit 

X Si quis dixerit, saceradotes, qui in peccato mortali sunt, potestatem ligandi 
et solvendi non habere ; ant non solos sacerdotes esse ministros absolutionis 
..... anathema sit. — Canons ix , x., xii sess. xiv. Cone. Trident.^ p. 83-4, 
Canones et Decreta. Lipsise, 1863. 

§ Docet prseterea sancta synodus, sacramenti poenitentife formam, in qua 
prsecipue ipsius vis sita est, in illis ministri verbis positam esse : ego te absolvo, 
etc. — De Pcenii., cap. iii. sess. xiv. Cone. Trident. 

I Sed vere tanquam Dei ministri absolvunt. — Quest, xvi. cap. v. pars ii. 
Catecli Trident. Lipsise, 1865. 



212 CATECHISM OF TRENT ON THE CONFESSIONAL. 

over him, he should venerate the person and power of Christ the 
Lord ; for in administering the sacrament of penance, as in the 
other sacraments, the priest discharges the office of Christ." * 

The Catechism of Trent teaches that, f '' Priest and penitent 
sliould be most careftd that their conversation in the confessional 
be held in secret; and hence, no one can, on any account, confess 
by messenger or letter, as in that way nothing can be treated 
secretly." 

The Catechism of the Council of Trent says that, J '^ Confession 
should be enjoined on a child from the time when he has the power 
of discerning between good and evil." And it declares that, § ^^Above 
all, the faithful should be most careful to cleanse their souls from 
sin by frequent confession." 

It declares that, || '^ Theologians give the name of satisfaction 
to express that compensation by which a man makes some repara- 
tion to God for the sins he has committed." 

Such are papal teachings in modern times about the confessional. 
Without contrition, confession and penance, there can be no per- 
fect remission of sins. Confession of sin to a priest is necessary to 
salvation. All and every mortal sin, even the most secret and in- 
famous, must be confessed to a priest, or there can be no pardon 
from God. The priest is the judge of the soul, and in the confes- 
sional, sitting instead of Jesus Christ, he can keep the sins of any 



* In sacerdote antem, qui in enm legitimns judex sedet, Christi Domini 
personam et potestatem veneratur. Sacerdos enim, quemadmodiim in aliis, 
ita' in poenitentise sacramento administrando Christi munus exsequitur. — 
Quest, xvii. cap. v. pars ii. Gatech. Trident. Lipsise, 1865. 

f Illnd vero turn conlitenti, turn sacerdoti maxime laborandum est, ut eorum 
sernio in confessione secreto liabeatur. Quiare fit, nt nemini omnino, neqiie 
per nunciam, neqne per literas, quoniam ea ratione nihil jam occnlte agi potest, 
peccata confiteri liceat. — Id., Quest, lii. cap. v. pars ii. 

I Ab eo tempore confessionem pnero indictam esse quum inter bonum et 
malum discernendi vim habet. — Id.., Quest, xliv. cap. v. pars ii Catecli. Cone. 
Trid. Lipsi{ie, 1865. 

§ Sed nulla res fidelibus adeo curce esse debet, quam ut frequenti pecca- 
torum confessione animam studeant expiare. — Id.^ Quest, liii. cap. v. pars ii. 

II Satisfactionis nomen divinarum rerum doctores ad declarandam eam com- 
pensationem usurparunt, quum homo pro peccatis commissis Deo aliquid 
persolvit. — Id., Quest, lix, cap. v. pars ii. 



POSTURE OF THE PENITENT IN THE CONFESSIONAL. 213 

man bound upon him, or loose them, according to his discretion. 
God never remits the sins of a man through faith only, says the 
twelfth canon of the Council of Trent on penance. That council, 
instead of being governed by the Spirit of God, was led by the spirit 
of contradiction to Christ — that is, by Antichrist. For God's word 
faithfully translated, in the Catholic Vulgate, says : " He that be- 
lieveth on nie hath eternal life ; " John vi. 47 : (Qui credit in me, 
habet vitam aeternam). ^' For God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that every one who believes on him 
7night not perish, but might have eternal life ;'^ John iii. 16 : (Sic 
enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret : 
ut omnis, qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam seter- 
nam.) '•'■ But the just lives by faith ; " Rom. i. 17 : (Justus autem ex 
fide vivit). The spirit that framed this canon is the spirit of 
ANTICHRIST in its full growth. They who believe on Jesus, 
without confession, absolution^ or penance, are saved for eternity, 
notwithstanding the curses of councils, personal infirmities, or the 
warfare of the Prince of Darkness. 

Sacerdotal Secrecy. 

Du Pin reports a part of the twenty-first canon of the fourth 
Council of the Lateran, A. d. 1215, which declares that, * " Those 
who shall disclose any sin, which has been revealed to them in 
confession, shall be condemned, not only to be deposed, but also 
to be confined during life in a monastery, there to do penance 
for it.'' 

Posture of the Penitent in Confession, and the Opening Address, 

" Kneeling down at the side of your ghostly father, make the 
sign of the cross, saying : ' In tlie name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.'" 

Then the penitent asks the priest's blessing in these words : 
"Pray, father, give me your blessing, for I have sinned." After 
this the penitent repeats the Confiteor : f " I confess to Almighty 
God, to blessed Mary, ever Virgin, to blessed Micdiael, the arch- 

* Du Pin, ii. p. 451. Dublin, 1724. 
t Garden of the Soul, p. 212. 



214 QUESTIONS OF THE COXFESSOE. 

angel^ to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and 
Paul, and to you, father, that I have sinned exceedingly, in 
thought, word and deed, through my fault, through my fault, 
through my most grievous fault." According to Hogan, the 
penitent, on her knees, has her lips nearly close to thejcheek of 
the priest. * 

The Questions of the Confessional. 

Many of these are too horrible to transcribe, and they shall not 
appear in this work. Those who wish to see the beastly vileness 
of the filthiest institution on the face of the earth, can consult 
Bailly, Peter Dens, and Saint Alphonsus Liguori. 

Michelet, the celebrated French author, speaks of the manuals 
placed in the hands of the young priest to guide his questions in 
the confessional, as " Addressed f to a world of festering filth, 
which the religious wars left behind them. You 'will find in 
them such crimes as could never be committed except by the 
horrid soldiery of the Duke of Alva, or those bands without coun- 
try, law, or God, which Wallenstein raised, true wandering Sodom- 
ites, icliich the old ones icould have held in horror. And this young 
priest, who, according to you, believes that the world is still that 
frightful world, comes to the confessional with all that villainous 
knowledge; his imagination furnished with monstrous cases ; you 
place him in contact with a child who has not left her mother, 
who knows nothing, who has nothing to tell, whose greatest 
crime consists in not having learned her catechism, or in having 
wounded a butterfly. I shudder at the questions he is about to 
put to her ; at all that he is about to teach her in his conscientious 
brutality !'' ' ' " 

Delicate Questions pid in every Catholic Prayei^ Booh in the 
Vulgar Tongue : upon ichich every Woman is to Examine her- 
self before appearing at the Confessional. 

On the sixth commandment : '^ Thou shalt not commit adul- 
tery." 

* Hogan's "Auricular Confession and Popish Xunneries," p. 33. Boston, 
1845. 

f Michelet on Auricular Confession, etc., p. 136. Philadelphia, 1845. 



QUESTIONS OF THE CONFESSOR. 215 

" Have you been guilty of any acts of impurity ? Under this 
head all sins against purity must be carefully examined, as well 
as whatever tends to their commission or indulgence. Have you 
been guilty of filthy talking? of reading immodest books? of 
indecency of dress? of looking at unchaste objects? of taking 
any dangerous or improper liberties ? 

" N. B. As the sins against this and the ninth commandment, 
(Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife) are most grievous, and 
at the same time most various, the prudent counsel of your direc- 
tor (priest) will assist you, if necessary, in a more particular exam- 
ination J' — Garden of the Soul, page 199. 

The Mission Book in the English language, a work of great 
popularity in the Catholic Church, suggests the following ques- 
tions under the sixth and ninth commandments ; 

" Have you dwelt wilfully and with complaisance, upon im- 
pure thoughts or imaginations ? Have you in fact consented to 
them in your mind ? How often ? " 

" Have you made use of impure language or allusions ; or 
listened to it willingly and with coinplaisance ? Was it sometimes 
before persons of another sex ? Have you sung immodest songs, 
or listened to them ? How often ?" 

"Have you been guilty of improper and dangerous freedoms 
with any of the other sex? How far have you carried this 
sinful conduct? Was the companion of your guilt a single 
person? How often? A relation? How often? A married 
person ? How often ? " 

" Have you written improper letters, or received them ? How 
often ? Have you gazed immodestly upon yourself or others ; 
upon pictures or statues, or any object which could excite desires ? 
How often ? Have you indulged in habits of secret sin ? How 
long? How often?'' 

" Have you, by the freedom of your manners, or your immodest 
dress, been the cause of temptation to others? Was this also 
your intention ? Have you read impure books, or newspapers ? 
How often ? Have you lent them to others ? Have you exposed 
yourself voluntarily to the occasions of sin by means of dances, 
shows, theatres, etc., by intemperance, by reading romances and 
plays, by walking out at night, by frequenting society, or by 



21 G ALL QUESTIONS BY CONFESSOR MUST BE ANSWERED. 

roDiaining alone with persons of a different sex? Have you been 
guilty of seduction? How often? Have your sins against these 
two commandments been sometimes of an unnatural kind? 
Plow often ?" * A parent is required to examine his or her con- 
science, with a view to the confessional, on this matter : " Have 
you exposed the innocence of your children to danger by letting 
them sleep together without distinction, or by taking them to 
your own bed, or keeping them in the same room, when already 
old enough to be scandalized? How often ?'^t A wife, at the 
confessional, must be ready to answer these questions : " Have you 
been respectful and obedient to your husband in everything rea- 
sonable? Have you refused him his marriage rights? How 
often ? Have you not persuaded him to offend God against the 
dictates of nature and of conscience ? How often ? '^ j 

Every question put bjfthe priest must be answered on peril 
of damnation ; he sits instead of Christ, you are confessing to 
God, the voice of the priest is ImmanueFs ; it is the Almighty that 
addresses the trembling penitent. And for this reason the priest 
hears everything, EVERYTHING, however shocking, shameful, 
frivolous, frightful ; everything in thoughts, feelings, words, looks, 
and deeds. And Michelet is right in describing a husband whose 
wife frequents the confessional as in a humiliating position ; ^^ It 
is," says he, ^' a humiliating thing to be seen, followed into the most 
intimate intimacy by an invisible witness, who regulates you, and 
assigns to you, your part ; to meet in the street a man who knows 
better than yourself your most secret acts of weakness, who hum- 
bly salutes you and turns aside and laughs." § 

These questions just quoted are found in some shape in the 
prayer books everywhere in use in the Catholic Church ; they are 
in the language of the people ; they are modest, compared to the 
frightful questions compiled by theologians for the use of priests, 
and covered by the Latin tongue ; and yet what blushes, shame, 
liorror, and outrages upon delicacy these questions involve ! That 
the modesty of women should be placed on the rack in the con- 
fessional by a bachelor priest, full of curiosity as well as sanctity, 

*MissionBook, pp. 311-12. K Y. 1866. fid., p. 316. | Id., p. 318. 
§ Michelet on Auric. Confession, p. 141. Philada., 1845. 



DEAF CONFESSOES. 217 

and torn, lacerated, and disjointed, under the awful sanctions of 
the Almighty, is indeed a dreadful thought. 

Gavin * tells us that in his time, in Spain, they had a class of 
priests who were known as Deaf Confessors. These men were 
not really deaf, but they acted as if they were. They lent an ear 
to penitents of every grade ; they asked no questions about the 
secrets of any heart ; and after each penitent had made his own 
statement to the confessor, he received a certificate which relieved 
him from the penalties of the church for a year. Is it any wonder 
that the- Deaf Confessors were visited by throngs ; that immense 
numbers of women should send for them or come to them, and 
that day and night they should be compelled to ply their calling 
with unresting activity ? Would it not be a positive advantage to 
the w^orld, and especially to religion, if every confessor was smit- 
ten with temporary but real deafness the moment he entered his 
wretched den of torture? 

The confessional is the most odious system of espionage ever 
invented by cunning despots. It is the most flagitious outrage 
upon the rights of husbands and wives, parents and children, the 
sinning and the sinned against, that ever shocked modesty or 
ground trembling hearts under its fatal heel. It is strongly 
believed to be the greatest incitement to vice that a holy God ever 
permitted ; frightful examples of which are on record. f It turns 
priests into odious receptacles for the accumulated stench and 
nastiness of all the foul corruptions of thousands, making them 
sons of the MAN OF SIIST, ready bearers of the iniquities of 
whole communities. 

This plague claims to start from the Scriptures. James is quoted 
as authority for it : " Confess therefore your sins one to another ; 
and pray one for another that you may be saved,^^ v. 16, (Vulgate : 
Confitemini ergo alterutrum peccata vestra ; et orate pro invicem 
ut salvemini). But this Scripture is quite as good authority for 
priests confessing to laymen or women, as it is for either party 
confessing to them. It is not : Confess your sins to the priest and 
he will absolve you. And if James had known anything of 
priestly confession, he would never have used the exhortation, " Con- 

* "Master Key to Popery," p. 50. Cin., 1883. 
f Llorente's "History of tlie Inquisition,'' p. 130. 



218 THE CONFESSIONAL A MODERN INNOVATION. 

fess therefore your sins one to another. ^^ The other authority from 
Scripture is in Matt, xviii. 18: "Whatsoever ye shall bind on 
earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on 
earth shall be loosed in heaven.^' The same promise is given in 
Matt. xvi. 19, and John xx. 23. It is argued that as the apostles 
received power to free men from their sins, or bind their sins upon 
them, the confessional was instituted by that authority. But the 
inference is not quite just. Ananias and Sapphira made no con- 
fession of sin to Peter ; nor did any mortal bear witness against 
them to him. Peter could bind and loose because the Holy Spirit 
rested so powerfully upon him that he could see the acts of thosu 
who were away from his bodily sight. He needed no confession 
box ; and besides, the pope is not Peter, his bishops are not apostles. 
After the calling of Paul there were no more apostles ; and they 
could have no successors, after the generation which knew Jesus 
had passed away. Acts i. 21-2. No man lives who walked with 
Christ and his apostles during his whole ministry, who saw him 
alive from the dead, so as to be a witness of his resurrection ; 
and as Peter in this passage declares that such men are needed, 
there can be no successors to the apostles, or to their powers of 
binding and loosing ; nor did they need the confessional to enable 
them to discharge their duties, and exercise their privileges. 

The confessional has neither EXISTENCE NOR SANC- 
TION FROM THE SCRIPTURES ; it was WHOLLY UN- 
KNOWN in all ancient churches; it had no LEGAL LIFE in 
the Catholic Church before the year TWELVE HUNDRED 
AND FIFTEEN; it is in itself a withering curse, a cruel 
tyranny, without one redeeming quality; and as a MODERN 
INNOVATION, AND AN INSTRUMENT OF OPPRES^ 
SION it should be banished from the world. 



1 



EXTREME UNCTION. 

The only two Scriptures quoted by the Catholic Church to sus- 
tain the practice of extreme unction, simply prove that in the 
Saviour's day his servants miraculously raised the sick by the use 
of oil. In Mark vi. 13, we find these words : ^^ And they [the 
disciples] cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that 
were sick, and healed them." The persons anointed are not said 
to be dying ; the act is not called the Last Unction, and the trans- 
action Avas a miracle, the design of which was to restore health, 
not to fit men for death. In James v. 14, 15, we read: 
"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders 
of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him 
with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith 
shall save [save from his disease] the sick, and the Lord shall 
raise him up ; and if he have committed sins, they shall be for- 
given him.'' Here the unction is not to fit the man for dying ; it 
is the human part of a miracle of restoration. Christ commonly 
used some natural agency and the astonishing power of God in 
performing his miracles. He could have made the wine out of 
nothing at Cana, but he required six stone vessels to be filled with 
water ; he could have created all the bread and fishes needed to feed 
the hungry thousands, but he sought the five loaves and two 
fishes, and gave them a miraculous enlargement. And so the 
anointing in James is but the natural basis of a supernatural cure. 
It is not a work performed on the dying, but a process applied to 
the sick to give them perfect health. Nor is it the unction which 
effects the healing, but the prayer of faith : "And the prayer of 
faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him upJ' "And 
if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him," through 
the prayer of faith. These are the only Scriptures brought for- 

219 



220 THE UXCTION OF HEALTH. 

ward to sustain extreme unction, and they simply prove that the 
Saviour, in the age of miracles, cured, not the dying, but the sick, 
by having them anointed with oil, and by having his wonder- 
working servants offer up believing prayers for them. As the ao^e 
of miracles passed away, so did this custom. If the practice 
should exist now, it could only apply to the removal of diseases. 
The sick Christian, instead of calling in a physician, should send 
for the elders of the church, to anoint and pray for him, that he 
might become well. 

The Greek Church retains the Form of Anointing recommended hy 

James. 

When a member of that communion is dangerously ill, the 
elders, that is, a body of priests,* not a single priest, are called in, 
who anoint the patient with oil, and pray for his recovery. This 
is exactly the object of James's unction. 

An unction was recommended in the sixth century, and for 
several ages immediately after, for the sick, with a view to hinder 
the use of amulets, charms,t and incantations for the recovery of 
health ; a practice prevalent among converts, and rendered popular 
among others by their experience. This unction was applied to 
all cases of sickness, as well to those threatened with death ; and 
the oil was used by laymen on themselves and their families. 

Bede alludes to this oil when he says : t "It is clear from the 
apostles themselves, that this holy custom was delivered to the 
Church, that the possessed, or any other diseased persons, may be 
anointed with oil consecrated by th^ pontifical benediction." 

Jonas, Bishop of Orleans, from A. d. 821 to 843, in his " Insti- 
tutione Laicorum,'' censures many for preferring the advice of 
soothsayers, or female fortune-tellers, about their diseased friends, 
to sending for the priests, and having themselves or relatives 
anointed with consecrated oil, according to the apostolical tra- 
dition.'' § 

The Council of Chalons, A. D. 813, regretting the contempt with 
which the unction of health was treated in their forty-eighth canon, || 

* Stanley's " History of the Eastern Churcli," p. 1 18. New York, 1870. 
t Neander, iii. p. 448. Boston, 1869. . X Bede, 0pp., t. v. coll. 132. 

§ Bibliotheca Patrum, torn. xiv. p. 166. \ Du Pin, ii. 107. Dublin, 1724. 



• THE UNCTION OF DEATH. 221 

" Recommend the anointing of the sick, which ought to be per- 
formed by priests, with an oil consecrated by the bishop ; adding 
that a remedy so fit to cure the infirmities of the soul and the body, 
ought not to be neglected." The canon was intended to show the 
advantages of this unction for health and pardon. The infor- 
mation it gives, that priests ought to apply it, would sound 
strange from a Catholic Council to a Romish community now. 

The Council of Paris, A. d. 850, in their eighth Constitution, 
say that : * " The priests should instruct the people in the saving 
nature of the Sacrament of Unction (not extreme), of which the 
apostle James speaks, and make them sensible that they can hope 
to receive the wished-for effects of that mystery ; the remission of 
sins, and health, only where they desire it Avith a sound and full 
faith ; that because it often happens that sick persons know not the 
force of that sacrament, or think their distempers inconsiderable, 
or forget to desire it, the priest of the place ought to put them in 
mind of receiving it, and he ought to invite the priests of his neigh- 
borhood to be present at its administration. Only those fitted to 
receive the other sacraments of the Church should have this unc- 
tion." This Council knew nothing of the unction for death ; it 
was THE ANOINTING FOR HEALTH AND PARDON. 
The churches knew nothing of the anointing for death for at least 
nine hundred years after Christ. 

Hagenbach says : f " The apostolical injunction respecting the 
sick (James v. 14), gave rise to a new sacrament, which came into 
general use /rom the ninth century, and could be administered only 
in the dying hour." This is extreme unction, or, properly, the 
Sacrament of Death. Possibly, in the tenth century, there were 
a few w ho had heard of the Sacrament of Death ; but the opinion 
of Riddle is more precisely given, and nearer the truth : J " The 
ceremony of extreme unction, as now used by the Church of 
Rome, cannot be traced to an earlier date than the end of the 
twelfth century ; after this century, it was universally adopted in 
the Western Church." 

* Du Pin, ii. 12. Dublin, 1724. 

f Hagenbach's "History of Doctrines," ii. p. 112. New York, 1869. 

X Riddle's "Christian Antiquities," pp. 752, 753. London, 1843. 



222 EXTREME UNCTION APPROVED BY THE CHURCH. * 

It is formally adopted by the Catholic Church in the Council of 
Florence, A. d. 1439. 

The decree is short and descriptive. It is :* " The fifth sacra- 
ment is extreme unction, wliose matter is olive oil blessed by the 
bishop. This sacrament ought not to be administered unless to 
the infirm whose death is feared. The places to be anointed are : 
the eyes on account of sight, the ears on account of hearing, the 
nostrils on account of smelling, the mouth on account of tasting 
and speaking, the hands on account of touching, the feet on account 
of walking, the reins on account of their being the seat of plea- 
sure.^' The form of this sacrament is this : " By this anointing 
and his own great mercy, may God indulge thee whatever sins 
thou hast committed through sight, etc., and in like manner by the 
other members. The minister of this sacrament is the priest. The 
effect truly is the healing of the mind, and as far as is fit, of the 
body also." This is the first time in which the new unction was 
enrolled among the laws and sacraments of the Catholic Church, 
by the supreme legislature of that community. 

The Catechism of Trent, after describing the oil in the last 
unction, as applied to the eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth and hands, 
proceeds to say if ^^ As in bodily infirmity although the entire 
body be affected, the cure is applied to that part only which is the 

* Qnintum sacramentum est extreraa unctio. Cujus materia est oleum 
olivse per episcopum beneclictum. Hoc sacramentum nisi infirmo, de cujiis 
morte timetur, dari not debet. Qui in his locis ungendus est : in oculis 
propter visum, in auribus propter auditum, in naribus propter odoratum, in 
ore propter gustum vel locutionem, in manibus propter tactum, in pedibus 
propter gressum, in renibus propter delectationem ibidem vigentem.- Forma 
liujus sacranienti est lisec : per istam unctionem et suam piissimam miseri- 

cordiam, quicquid peccasti per visum, etc et similiter in aliis 

membris. Minister liujus sacramenti est sacerdos. EfFectus vero est mentis 
sanatio, et, in quantum autem expedit, ipsius etiam corporis, — Decretum 
Cone. Movent, pro Inst. Armen. Gone. Lahb., torn. xiii. p. 538. Paris 1672, 

t A.C quoniam in corporis morbis, quamvis universum corpus male affec- 
tum sit, lamen illi tantum parti curatio adhibetur, a qua, tanquam a fonte et 
origine, morbus manat : idcirco non totnm corpus sed ea membra, in quibus 
potissimum sentiendi vis eminet, renes etiam, veluti voluptatis et libidinis 
sedes, unguutur ; tum pedes, qui nobis ingressus et ad locum movendum 
principium sunt — Quest. 10, cap. 6. par. ii., Gaiechismus Gone. Trid. Lipsiae, 
1865. 



THE PARTS ANOINTED. 223 

source and origin of the disease ; so is this unction applied, not to 
the entire body, but to those members which are preeminently the 
organs of sense ; and also to the loins which are, as it were, the 
seat of pleasure and of sensuality, and to the feet, by which we are 
enabled to move from one place to another." 

Hogan says : ^^ Send an American ( Protestant) missionar}" to 
a Catholic country, and without aid from home he will starve; he 
has no servants whom he can persuade to give him ten or twelve 
dollars for saying mass, no dying person who will send for him 
and pay him well for taking out of his pockets a set of oil stocks 
for the purpose of greasing him over, commencing on the forehead, 
then proceeding to the tip of the nose, the eyelids, the lips, the 
breast, the loins, and the soles of the feet." * Hogan has breast 
for hands, which, in all probability, is a mistake. But the loins are 
anointed. 

The oil is regularly blessed once a year by the bishop, so that 
the priests have it always holy and ready for use. 

The Council of Trent says if ^^ If any one shall say that the 
sacred anointing of sick persons does not confer grace, nor remit dns, 
nor raise up the sick, but that now it has ceased, as if the grace of 
cures existed only in former times ; let him be accursed." 

The Catechism of Archbishop Spaulding says :J "Extreme unc- 
tion is a sacrament that gives grace to die well. It is given when 
we are in danger of death by sickness." 

Extreme unction is not observed to restore health, by miraculous 
answers to prayers. It is only given to the dying, and it is applied 
to impart grace to them that they may die well ; and to remove 
all traces of remaining sin. 

The manner of applying Extreme Unction. 

" The priest provides seven balls of cotton to wipe the parts to 
be anointed ; and a taper to light him during the ceremony. As 

* Hogan's "Anricnlar Confession and Nunneries," p. 132. Boston, 1845. 

•f Si qnis dlxerit, sacram infirmornm iinclionem non conferre gratiam, nee 
remittere peccata, nee alleviare infirmos, sed jam cessasse, quasi olim tantum 
fuerit gratia cnrationum : anathema sit. — Canones et Decreta Cone. Trid.^ 
sess. xiv. can. 2, de Sacrament Extr. TJnc , p. 85. Lipsiae, 1863. 

X Spaulding's Catccliism, p. 44. Pbiladelpliia. 



224 EXTEEME UNCTION AN INNOVATION. 

he enters the chamber of death he must wear a surplice and the 
purple stole ; he gives the sick person the cross to kiss, he sprinkles 
him, the apartment, and the assistants with holy water in the form 
of a cross ; confession and absolution if possible must precede the 
unction. The priest dips his right thumb in the ^ Oils of the 
Infirm,' and anoints each part in the form of a cross, pronouncing 
words appropriate to the part receiving the unction ; for the eyes, 
for example, he says : ^ May God by this holy anointing, and by 
his most pious mercy, pardon you the sins you have committed 
through the eyes ! ' At the conclusion of the anointing the priest 
repeats some prayers, after which he delivers an exhortation to the 
sick, and retires/' * 

Such is extreme unction, one of the leading sacraments of the 
Church of Rome ; it has no place in the Scriptures ; no location 
among the fathers ; it was never heard of until from nine to twelve 
hundred years after Christ. It is a MODEEN INNOVATION. 

* " Keligious Ceremonies and Customs," by Goodrich, p. 371-2. Hartford, 
1834. 



THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS. 

The officers of a New Testament Church are bishops and dea- 
cons. No other class is ever named as discharging permanent 
duties in the apostolic communities. * The names presbyter and 
bishop designated the same position, f the one describing the ven- 
erable gravity of the man, the other the oversight which his epis- 
copal duties imposed. 

The deacon was charged with the care of the poor, and the dis- 
tribution of the elements at the Lord's Table. { It was no part 
of his diaconal duties to preach, though Stephen and Philip pro- 
claimed the word of life. When the first glow of gospel love 
warmed the hearts of men, though persons were specially set apart 
for the duties of the ministry, preaching in some way appears to 
have been a general work, for we find Acts viii. 1, 4, that by per- 
secution the members of the church at Jerusalem "were all scat- 
tered abroad ; '^ and " they that were scattered abroad, went every- 
where preaching the word." At a very early day, after inspired 
men left the churches, deacons become inferior ecclesiastics ; and 
bishops were made superior to elders. 

Metropolitans. 

At first all bishops were on an equality no matter where their 
field of labor was located. Perhaps in the beginning of the third 
century, in some places, one bishop began to claim some measure 
of superiority over another. At the commencement of the fourth 
century the order of metropolitans was generally recognized. 



* Philippians i. 1 ; 1 Tim. iii. f 1 Peter v. 1, 2 ; Acts xx. 17, 28. 
X Acts vi. 1-5. 

15 225 



226 METROPOLITANS AND PATRIARCHS. 

Duties of these Officers. 

They ordained the bishops over whom they exercised jurisdic- 
tion; they decided controversies among their episcopal sub- 
jects ; they summoned provincial synods ; they published eccle- 
siastical laws made by councils or by the emperors in their own 
provinces, and enforced their observance ; and they took charge 
of sees made vacant by ^eath in their jurisdiction until they re- 
ceived new bishops. The name is derived from the seats of 
these lords of bishops. The capital of a province was the resi- 
dence of an ecclesiastical prince. Hence he was called a metro- 
politan. The Council of Chalcedon has two canons appointing 
those cities to be honored as the residences of metropolitans, 
which enjoyed the same distinction in the civil government of 
the empire. * There are a few exceptions to this rule. The 
principal one was in Africa, where the senior bishop was primate 
no matter where he lived. 

Patriarehs. 

It is supposed that this order first showed itself in the churches 
about A. D. 381. Socrates, speaking of the Synod of Constantinople, 
held in A. D. 381, says: f "Then too patriarchs were constituted, 
and the provinces distributed, so that uo bishop might exercise any 
jurisdiction over churches out of his own diocese : for this had been 
often indiscriminately done before, on account of the persecutions.'^ 
He then recounts the divisions of the empire into patriarchates, 
and gives the names of the princely bishops. 

The patriarch ordained all his metropolitans ; he summoned 
them and all provincial bishops under them to councils over 
which he presided; he received appeals from metropolitans and 
provincial synods ; and originally had no ecclesiastical superior. 
Under God in his church empire, he was sovereign. At first 
there were thirteen or fourteen patriarchs. By many changes and 
efforts, in the course of time the number was reduced to five: the 
patriarchs of Eome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria and 
Jerusalem. 



* Cone. Chalced., can. 12 et 17. f Socrates lib. v. cap. 8. 



GRADES OF THE CLERGY. 227 

Inferior Clergy. 
In the time of Paul, the presbyter was the bishop. In two 
hundred and fifty years from his day he was the assistant of the 
bishop. Presbyters might preach, baptize, consecrate the Lord's 
Supper, and in the bishop's absence give absolution to penitents, 
after the episcopal office was elevated by men above the presby- 
ter ial. 

Deacons, 

In the early churches the deacon w^as " a minister of widows 
and tables," * a levite, that is one in the lowest grade of the min- 
istry. According to the Council of Carthage, ^' a deacon was or- 
dained, not to the priesthood, but to an inferior service." f 

The Archdeacon, 
St. Jerome says : J " The deacons choose one from themselves 
whom they know to be industrious, and him they call arch- 
deacon." It was the duty of this minister to attend the bishop 
at the communion table, to assist him in connection with the reve- 
nues of the church, to render help in preaching, and to exercise 
some supervision over the inferior ministers. 

Deaconesses, 
. As a general rule the deaconess must be from forty to sixty 
years of age before receiving the appointment, a widow, having 
had but one husband ; or an unmarried sister. They are employed, 
says Bingham, " To assist the minister at the baptising of women."§ 
They were also obliged to visit the poor, the sick and the martyrs. 

Sub-Deacons. 
This office existed in the third century ; its duties were to fit 
the sacred vessels for the altar and hand them to the deacon in 
time of divine service ; to attend the doors of the church durino^ 

* Mensarum et viduarum ministri. — Hieron. Ep. 85, ad Evagr.^ torn. ii. p. 
259. Colonise, 1616. 

f Diacouus non ad sacerdotinm, sed ad rainisterium consecratur. — Gone. 
Garth, iv. c. 4. 

X Diaconi eligant de se, quern industiiura noverint, et archidiaconum 
vocent. — E-p. 85, ad Evagr.^ torn. ii. p. 259. Colouiae, 1616. 

§ Bingham, book ii chap. 22, sec. 8. 



228 CHURCH OFFICEES. 

the communion ; and to journey to foreign churches as the bishop's 
messengers. 

Acolyte. 

This office existed in the third century. The acolyte at his 
ordination received a candlestick, with a taper in it, to instruct him 
that it was his duty to light the candles of the church ; and an 
empty vessel to furnish wine for the Lord's Supper. It is sup- 
posed that it was their duty to attend the bishop wherever he 
went, and that from this service their name was obtained. 

Exorcists. 

In the first half of the third century this office was in full 
exercise in the churches. The exorcist cast out devils. 

The Lector or Header. 

This was a distinct office in the third century. It was the duty 
of the lector to read the Scriptures, not at the altar, but in the 
reading-desk in the body of the church. The lector has entered 
upon his duties at eight years of age, but by a decree of Justinian, 
no one under eighteen was to be ordained in future. 

The Ostiarii, or Doorkeepers. 

The doorkeeper belonged to an order of the clergy in the third 
century. He was appointed by the bishop ; and solemnly installed 
by receiving the keys from him with this charge : " Behave thy- 
self as one that must give an account to God of the things locked 
under these keys.'' 

The Psalmistce, or Singers. 

This inferior order of the clergy arose about the fourth centuury. 
Their office was to regulate and encourage church music. 

Copiatce. 

These were an order of inferior clergy, who in ancient times 
took charge of funerals and provided for the proper burial of the 
dead. It is understood that in many places the Jews still have 
such an order. 



CARDINALS. 229 

The ParabolanL 

These persons were devoted to the care of the sick, and were 
reckoned by some as a part of the clergy in the early Church. 

There were several other minor offices in the primitive Church. 
Showing with considerable distinctness that it might lack piety, 
and be shorn of usefulness, but that it was rich in the abundance 
of its sacred situations. 

Centuries rolled on revealing few changes among the clergy. 
The principal one was the rise of 

The Orxler of Cardinals. 

The title of Cardinal w^as given at an early day to the seven 
suffragan bishops of the pope in the immediate vicinity of Rome ; 
to the tw^enty-eight presbyters or chief ministers of the Roman 
parishes ; and to a certain number of deacons who had charge of 
some churches and chapels of devotion. These three classes were 
called cardinati or cardinals, to indicate that they w^ere the first 
in rank ; and that they had the chief direction of all ecclesiastics, 
and of all church affairs in Rome. This title conferred no great 
honor in the beginning, though it looked to that object from the 
start ; but in A. D. 1059, Nicolas II.* restricted the right of 
electing a pontiff to the seven bishops and twenty-eight priests 
just named ; and Alexander III., to quiet dissatisfaction at Rome, 
enlarged the college of cardinal electors by admitting into it the 
seven palatine judges, the arch-presbyters of the Lateran Church, 
and those of the churches of St. Peter and St. Maria Maggoire ; 
and the abbots of St. Paul and St. LaAvrence without the walls ; 
and the cardinal deacons or regionarii. 

The pope, says Mosheim, is chosen at this day " by f six bishops 
in the vicinage of Rome, fifty presbyters of Roman churches, and 
fourteen overseers or deacons of Roman hospitals or deaconries.'' 
These electors are all called cardinals. When a pontiff is to be 
chosen they are locked up in a single apartment, having only one 
door, which they are not allowed to leave until a successor to Peter 

* Mosheim, part. ii. chap. ii. sections 6, 7. 

f Mosheim, 16 ceii. sec. iii. part i. chap. i. sec. 1. 



230 THE COUNCIL OF TRENT AND THE CLERGY. 

is elected. Food is handed in to the members of the conclave, 
through a window. One of the galleries of the Vatican, with the 
requisite number of little cells to furnish one for each cardinal, is 
generally the room in which the conclave is confined. The car- 
dinals are the princes of the papal kingdom, the counsellors of the 
pope, the presidents and managers of all ecclesiastical boards in 
Rome ; under the pope they are the masters of the Catholic Church. 
From the cardinals the pope is elected. Though not so in name, 
they are a new order of the clergy born in the eleventh century, 
and overshadowing all the dignitaries of the Catholic Church, 
except the Supreme Pontiff. 

The modern Clergy of the Catholic Church. 

The Council of Trent says : * "As the ministry of so holy a 
priesthood is a divine arrangement, it was meet in order that it 
may be exercised with greater dignity and veneration, that in the 
admirable economy of the church there should be several distinct 
orders of ministers, intended by their office to serve the priesthood, 
and so disposed as that, beginning with the clerical tonsure, they 
may ascend gradually from the lower to the higher orders. For 
the Holy Scriptures make distinct mention not only of priests but 
of deacons, and they teach us in impressive language the things 
which have special reference to their ordination ; and from the 
beginning of the Church the names and peculiar duties of the 
following orders are known to have been in use : namely, sub- 
deacons, acolytes, exorcists, readers, and doorkeepers. Although 
they are not all of equal rank ; for sub-deacons are placed among 

* Quum autem divina res sit tam sancti sacerdotii ministerium, coiisentaneum 
fuit, quo digniiis et majori cum veneratione exerceri posset, ut in ecclesise 
ordinalissima dispositione plures et diversi essent ministrorum ordines, qui 
sacerdotio ex officio deservirent, ita distributi, ut qui jam clericali tonsura in- 
Bigniti essent per minores ad majores adscenderent Nam non solum de 
sacerdotibus, sed et de diaconis sacrseliterse apertam mentionem faciunt, et 
quse maxime in illorum ordinatione attendenda, sunt gravissimis verbis docent, 
et ab ipso ecclesise initio sequentium ordinum nomina atque uniuscuj usque 
eorum propria ministeria, subdiaconi scilicet, acolythi, exorcistse, lectoris et 
ostiarii in usu fuisse cognoscuntur, quamvis non pari gradu ; nam subdiacon- 
atus ad majores ordines a Patribus, et sacris conciliis refertur, in quibus et 
de aliis inferioribus frequentissime legimus.— Cap. ii. de Sacr. Ord., sess. 
xxiii. Cone. Trid. 



THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVEN IN ORDINATION. 231 

the greater orders by the fathers and holy councils, in which we 
read very frequently of other inferior orders." The council heads 
this chapter " Of the seven orders " that are of the ministry. 

The next chapter of the decree is entitled, ^^ Orders are a Sacra- 
ment.'' It reads,* " Since it is evident from the testimony of Scrip- 
ture, from apostolic tradition, and from the unanimous consent of 
the fathers, that by holy ordination, conferred by words and ex- 
ternal signs, grace is given, no one ought to doubt that orders 
constitute one of the seven Sacraments of holy Church. For the 
apostle says, ' I admonish you that you stir up the grace of God, 
which is in thee by the imposition of my hands. For God hath 
not given us the spirit of fear; but of strength, and of love, and 
of sobriety.' " 

The Council says : f "If any one shall affirm that by sacred 
ordination the Holy Spirit is not given, and, therefore, that in 
vain the bishops say : Keceive the Holy Spirit ; or that by it a 
character is not impressed, or that he Avho was once a priest may 
become a layman again ; let him be accursed.'' 

It cannot be denied that in thousands of instances the Holy 
Spirit has not been given in ordination. Nothing can be moi'e 
preposterous than the supposition that any character or quality of 
mind or heart is given by ordination to the candidate. The act 
only gives him the external authority of the Church to undertake 
certain duties. The imposition of apostolical hands conferred the 
Holy Spirit, l^o human hands bestow that Spirit now except 
those pierced on the tree of Calvary. 



* Qnum scripturse testimonio, apostolica traditione et Patrum unanimi con- 
sensu perspicuum sit, per sacram ordinationem, quae verbis et signis exteriori- 
bus perficitnr, gratiam conferri, dubitare nemo debet, ordinem esse vere et 
proprie nnnm ex septem sanctae ecclesise sacramentis. Inquit euim Apostolus : 
Admoneo te, ut resnscites gratiam Dei, quae est in te, per irapositionem 
manuum mearum. Nonenim dedit nobis Deus spiritum timoris, sed virtutis, 
et dilectionis et sobrietatis.— Cap. iii. de Sacr. Ord., sess. xxiii. pp. 129, 130, 
Canonea et Decreta Goncilii Tridentini Lipsise, 1863. 

f Si quis dixerit, per sacram ordinationem non dari Spiritum Sanctum, ac 
proinde frustra episcopos dicere : Accipe Spiritum Sanctum ; aut per earn 
non imprimi characterem ; vel eum, qui sacerdos semel fuit, laicum rursus 
fieri posse ; anathema sit. — Can. iv., de Sacr. Ord., sess. xxiii. 



232 THE TONSUrtE. 

The Priests and Ministers of Rome must have the Tonsure, 

The Catechism of Trent says that, * " In the tonsure the hair of 
the head is cut in the form of a crown, which ought constantly to 
be preserved, and as any one advances in orders, his crown ought 
to be drawn more widely. The Church teaches that this practice 

is received from apostolic tradition this custom, they say, 

was introduced at first by the prince of all the apostles in honor 
of the crown of thorns, which was pressed upon the head of our 
Saviour." 

The tonsure is indispensable to any ecclesiastical position. Every 
minister and priest must wear it. 

The tonsure was first practised by the monks in the fourth cen- 
tury ; from them it passed over to the ministers of the Church. 
In the fifth century it was a badge of the clerical office. In 
A. D. 633, the fourth Council of Toledo enjoined all the clergy to 
shave the whole crown of their heads, leaving but a small tuft of 
their hair, in the form of a round circle, or a crown. t 

In England and Scotland, the tonsure led to bitter controver- 
sies between the ancient British and Pictish Christians, and the 
Anglo- Saxon converts of Augustine, the Roman, and his fellow 
monks. 

The Scottish priests permitted the hair to grow on the back of 
the head, and shaved the front from ear to ear, in the form of a 
crescent, which the Romanists derisively called, " The tonsure of 
Simon Ma'gus." This difficulty, and the trouble about Easter, 
broke up religious intercourse between the ancient churches of 
Britain and the papal Church of Augustine, and drove a number 
of noble ministers out of England, in the seventh century, who 

* Tondentnr vero capilli ad coronse speciem et similitudinem, quam per- 
petuo conservare oportet, et ut quisque in altiori deinceps ordinis gradu col- 
locatur, sic ejus orbis forma latior circumscribi debet ; qiidd quidem ex 

apostolornm traditione acceptiim esse, docet ecclesia Primum 

autem omnium ferunt apostolorum principem eam consuetudinem induxisse 
ad memoriam coronse quae ex spinis contexta Salvatoris nostri capiti fuit 
imposita. — Quest, xiv. cap. vii. pars ii. p. 265, Catechis. Cone. Trid. 
Lipsige, 1865. 

t Du Pin, vol ii. p. 6. Dublin, 1724. 



THE EING, CHOZIER, MITRE, TIARA, AND KEYS. 233 

would not yield to the pope even in trivial matters. Among 
whom was the saintly Coleman. * 

Insignia of the Episcopal and Papal Offices, 

The bishop's ring denoted the nuptial union which bound him 
to his flock; and was a prominent mark of the dignity of a 
prelate. 

The crozier or staff, usually bent at the top, like the crook of 
an ancient shepherd, was an indispensable token of episcopal 
authority. At the death of a bishop, in the eleventh century, his 
staff and crozier were forthwith transmitted to the sovereign, the 
bestowment of which by the monarch upon any clergyman, gave 
him the bishopric of the deceased. This custom stirred up the 
fiercest warfare ever waged by the popes between Henry IV., 
Emperor of Germany, and Gregory YIL, Pope of Rome. 

A famous pastoral staff was preserved in Ireland for many cen- 
turies. It was called, " The Staff of Jesus.'' St. Patrick was 
said to have received it indirectly from Christ ; and with it, to 
have driven all venomous reptiles from his adopted country. 
Giraldus Cambrensis, a clergyman with the English when they 
conquered a large part of Ireland in the twelfth century, describes 
it, and states that his countrymen removed it from Armagh to 
Dublin ; f where it remained till the Reformation, during which 
it was burned. 

The mitre in the West is a hat divided in two at the crown, 
each part tapering at the top to a narrow point or tongue ; it is 
supposed that it was intended to represent the cloven tongues in 
the likeness of which the Spirit of God rested on the apostles on 
the day of Pentecost. Mitres were often made of very costly 
materials ; gold and precious stones lending their worth and 
beauty. The mitre is known to have been in use from the ninth 
century ; how much earlier it is difficult to determine. 

The tiara, or papal mitre, was, originally, a tall, round hat ; but 
it was encircled by one crown by Boniface VIII., in A. d. 1295 : 



* Bede's "Ecclesiastical History," lib. iii. cap. xxvi. 

f "Topography of Ireland," by Giraldus Cambrensis, Distinct, iii. cap, xxxiv. 



234 SACERDOTAL GARMENTS. 

a second was placed around it by Benedict XII., A. D. 1335, and 
still another by John XXIII., in A. D. 1411. It is a triple 
crown, literally. This is the symbol of royalty and priestly dignity 
worn by the popes. 

The keys are another token of the pope's dominion over heaven 
and the souls of men here. ^^ The keys '^ refer to the power w^hich 
Christ gave to Peter, and, as Catholics imagine, to the pope, 
Peter's successor, when he is said to have given Pet^r the keys of 
the kingdom of heaven. 

Some of the official Garments of the Clergy. 

In the celebration of mass, the priest is clothed to represent 
Christ in his suffering. The Amice represents the cloth or rag 
with which the Jews muffled our Saviour's face when, at every 
blow, they bid him prophesy who it was that struck him : the 
Alb represents the white garment with which Herod clothed him ; 
the Girdle, Maniple and Stole, represent the cords and bands with 
which he was bound in the different stages of his Passion ; the 
Chasuble, or outer vestment, represents the purple garment with 
which he was draped in mockery as a king, the cross on the back 
of which represents the one which the Saviour bore on his 
shoulders.* Gavin says : " The Ambito (evidently the Spanish 
for Amice) is like a Holland handkerchief, and is put around the 
priest's neck ; the Alba is a long surplice, with narrow sleeves, 
ornamented with fine lace ; the Stole is a long list of silk, with a 
cross in the middle, and one at each end ; the Maniple is a short 
list of the same silk, with as many crosses, and is tied on the 
priest's left arm ; the Casulla (Chasuble ?) is a sort of dress made of 
three yards of silk, thirty-six inches, wide at the back, but narrower 
in front." t 

The Pope and Cardinals in their Robes of Office. 

Some years ago, a spectator in St. Peter's at Rome, on a great 
feast day, saw " The pope in a golden chair, carried on the shoulders 



* ''Garden of the Soul," p. 60. 

\ "Master Key," pp. 117, 118. Cine, 1833. 



THE MAN OF SIN. 235 

of twelve cardinals, advancing slowly up the grand nave. He was 
arrayed in a large, folding robe of white satin, embroidered with 
gold ; he had on his head the triple crown. Bishops and cardinals, 
clothed in crimson, with attendant train-bearers, preceded and fol- 
lowed him. There were mitres and crucifixes, resplendent with 
gems, borne along. This scene, in such a church, seemed to mock 

even the splendid sunlight The cardinals removed their 

red caps Cardinals, in long, red robes, with prodigious 

tails, or trails, which were carried by their servants, came up and 
kissed his hand, or the hem of his robe, or the cross on his slipper, 
bowed three times, as is said, to him, as to the Father, on his 
right, as to the Son, in front, and on his left, as to the Holy 
Ghost." "^ How loudly this description recalls the saying of St. 
Paul, 2 Thess. ii. 4 (Catholic version) : ^' Who opposeth and is 
lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so 
that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he ivere 
God J' Or, does it not remind us of John's vision ? " And the 
woman was clothed round about with purple and scarlet, and gilt 
tcith gold, and preeious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in 
her hand, full of the abomination and filthiness of her fornication." 
Catholic version. Apocalypse xvii. 4. 

* " Echoes of Europe," p. 460. Philada., 1860 . 



MARRIAGE. 

The most sacred of human institutions occupied an appropriate 
place in the arrangements of the early Christians. It is not im- 
probable that marriage was, in some measure, an arrangement of 
the Church ; or, at any rate, that it was entered upon after consul- 
tation with its of&cers. Tertullian says : * ^^ How may we be able 
to describe the happiness of that marriage which the Church recom- 
mends, and the oblation confirms, and the benediction seals; the 
angels report it, and the Father ratifies it?^' From this statement, 
it is evident that the Church, in some way, aided in arranging 
marriages, and solemnly blessed them with religious services. And 
more testimony of the same description, in abundance, is scattered 
over the primitive fathers. 

The Council of Laodicea, A. D. 365, forbids all church members 
to enter into communion with heretics, by giving their sons or 
daughters in marriage to them, or receiving their sons and daughters 
in marriage. t 

The marriage of first cousins was prohibited by the Council of 
Epone, and condemned in other synods. J 

The widow who married before her husband had -been dead a 
full year was to be regarded as one worthy of infamy. § 

Justinian || first recognised the kindred of sponsors, and forbade 
any man to marry a woman for whom he had been surety in bap- 

* TJnde sufBciamus ad ennarandam felicitatem ejus matrimonii, quod ec- 
clesia conciliat et confirmat oblatio et obsignat beiiedictio, augeli renuutiant, 
Pater rato liabet. — Ad. Uxor., lib. ii. cap. 9, p. 77. Lipsise, 1839. 

f Cone Laodic , can. x., Du Pin, i. 613. Dublin, 1728. 

X Cone. Epaunen., can. xxx., Du Pin, i. 690. Dublin, 1723. 

§Cod. Theod., lib. iii. tit. 8, de Seeundis Nuptiis, leg. 1. 

I Cod. Just., lib. V. tit. 4, de Nuptiis, leg. 26. 
23G 



MARRIAGE AMONG THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. 237 

tism ; the Council of Trullo prohibited the sponsor from marrying 
the infant for whom he was godfather,* or its mother. 

The second Council of Aries forbade penitents to marry while 
they were under the censure of the Church.f And as this con- 
dition lasted, frequently, for years, the decision was one of great 
severity. 

The Council of Epone prohibited marriage between a man and 
his deceased wife's sister, in A. D. 517. J And the Council of Neo- 
C8esarea,§ in its second canon, ordered a woman who had been the 
wife of two brothers, to be excommunicated till the end of her life. 
Such a union was regarded with unaccountable but intense horror 
in the early churches. 

Second marriages were sometimes condemned among the laity in 
the primitive Church, and commonly only tolerated; but third 
marriages were inexcusable. St. Basil says : || " The custom of his 
church was to excommunicate, for five years, those who married 
the third time ; that, in other places, they were only put under 
penance for two or three years.'' 

The ring had a place in marriage before Christ's day, and was 
used among his disciples in espousals in the second century. In 
the ninth century, in betrothal, the man presented to the lady the 
espousal gifts ; and among these he put a ring on her finger ; at a 
convenient time afterwards, they were solemnly married in the 
church, receiving from the priest the benediction and the celestial 
veil ; and, on retiring from the sacred edifice, they wore crowns or 
garlands upon their heads, kept in it for that purpose. T[ 

When the man betrothed his future wife, the contract was con- 
firmed by a " solemn kiss " which he gave her. This custom was 
the result of a law enacted by the Great Constantine. AYhen it 
was given, the heirs of either party, if one of them died before 
marriage, received half of the espousal gifts ; when it was neglected, 
the donations, in case of death before the nuptial ceremony, were 
restored. Probably all the gifts were seldom returned. Tf 



* Cone. Trullo, can. liii. f Cone. Arlet. ii. can. xxi. 

X Cone. Epaunen., can. xxx. § Du Pin, i. p. 597. Dublin, 1723. 

I Du Pin, i. p. 238. Dublin, 1723. 

1" Bingham, book xxii. chap. 3, sec. 5, 6 ; cliap. iv. sec. 4. 



238 CANONS OF TRENT ON MARRIAGE. 

In a marriage between Christians in the fourth century, each took 
the other by the right hand. " The young couple joined their 
right hands together, and both their hands to the hand of God/' 
and entreating his approval, the minister invoked his blessing and 
pronounced them husband and wife. * 

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT AND MARRIAGE. 

Canon I. — " If any one shall say that marriage is not truly and 
properly one of the seven sacraments of the evangelical law, but 
that it was invented by men in the Church, and does not confer 
grace ; let him be accursed.'^ 

Canon III. — " If any man shall say that only those degrees of 
consanguinity and affinity expressed in Leviticus can hinder men 
from contracting matrimony or dissolve it when contracted ; and 
that the Church cannot dispense with some of these degrees , or ap- 
point that others may hinder or dissolve it ; let them be accursed." 
Here is a modest canon ! It curses a man for denying that the 
Church can change the laws of God revealed in Leviticus. 

Canon X. — " If any one shall say that marriage is preferable to 
virginity or celibacy, and that it is not better and happier to re- 
main in virginity or celibacy than to be bound in wedlock ; Iqt him 
be accursed." A good many, doubtless, are quite satisfied that it 
is not happier or better to dwell in the shades and darkness of a 
single life, than to rejoice in the light of wedded love ; and would 
say with the Almighty : " That it is not good that the man should 
be alone," even though his " Holiness " of Rome should curse 
them for it. 

Canon XL — ^^ If any one shall say that the prohibition of the 
solemnization of marriage at certain seasons of the year is a tyran- 
nical superstition, proceeding from the superstition of the heathen, 
or shall condemn the benedictions or other ceremonies which the 
Church uses in it ; let him be accursed." 

Canon XII. — "If any one shall say that matrimonial causes do 
not belong to ecclesiasticcd judges ; let him be accursed." 

In every part of our country the marriage laws are under the 
control of secular judges ; and we all realize that this is right, and 



* Bingham, book xxii. chap. iii. sees. 5, 6 ; chap. iv. sec. 4. 



THE POOR MAY NOT MARRY FIRST COUSIKS. 239 

we say it on fitting occasions; for which this zealous curse travels 
from Trent by way of Rome, over the ages and the Atlantic, 
and pours the vials of its execrations upon us. 

The Council of Trent generally placed a decree on record, and 
then followed it by canons on the same subject; the decree on 
matrimony has ten chapters, two quotations from which we give : 
" They who shall try to contract matrimony otherwise than in the 
presence of the parish priest, or of some other priest by his permis- 
sion, or by the licence of the ordinary and in the presence of two 
or three witnesses (shall fail), and the holy synod renders them 
utterly incapable of thus contracting it ; and decrees such contracts 
void and nidi ; as it makes them void and annuls them by the 
present decree/^ According to this papal statute, and according to 
the understanding of it in the Catholic Church, all marriages con- 
tracted before a magistrate or a ^^ heretical preacher^' are pro- 
hibited. And it has often happened that such nuptial ceremonies 
have been nullified by a second marriage immediately after by a 
Catholic priest. ^' If any one shall presume knowingly to contract 
marriage within the prohibited degrees, he shall be separated and 
deprived of the hope of obtaining a dispensation.'^ In this chap- 
ter provision is made for granting dispensations in some cases, but 
it is firmly declared that, * ^'In the second degree no dispensation 
shall ever be granted unless between great princes, and for a pub- 
lic cause.^^ A couple of poor young cousins (the second degree) 
might be tenderly attached to each other; and might have a nobler 
love than ever burned in the breast of an Alexander, a Caesar, 
a Charlemagne, or a Napoleon. And as the God of Christians is 
no respecter of persons, as before him kings and the brethren of 
Lazarus, in regard to earthly dignity and importance, are on a 
perfect equality, he looks with disdain upon this aristocratic, time- 
serving, and unchi'istian toleration, which would let the king keep 
his wife-cousin, but would ruthlessly tear her from the bosom of 
a mere mechanic or other honest son of toil. If it is a sin to 
marry a first or a second cousin, no mortal should give a dispen- 
sation to commit a transgression against God; the great Ruler him- 

■* In secundo gradu nunquam dispensetur nisi inter magnos principes, 
ob publicam causam. — Gap. v. 



240 CATECHISM OF TRENT ON MARRIAGE. 

self assuredly would neither gratify a sovereign of men or a prince 
of fallen angels, for any cause, public or private, important or in- 
significant, with any such indulgence. If a licence is to be conferred 
on any one to marry his first cousin, confine it to no crowned 
owner of a nation's womanly charms, whose love would be wel- 
comed in almost every cottage, mansion, and palace in his own 
land, and in a dozen other states and kingdoms. Let the dispen- 
sation reach the sons of obscurity, whose sources of enjoyment are 
so few. Denied of everything but sunlight, liberty, and grinding 
toil ; if it is not a sin, let them have the light of LOVE ; which, 
next to religion, is the brightest sun, whose dazzling rays have 
scattered floods of hope over human hearts and homes ; even 
should that light come from the cherished aifection of a first 
cousin. 

The tenth chapter* of this decree prohibits marriage from the 
Advent to the Epiphany, and from Ash Wednesday till the octave 
of Easter. 

The Catechism of the Council of Trent on Marriage. 

Quotation from question two, chapter eight, and part the 
second : " It is called matrimony because the female ought chiefly 
to marry that she may become a mother ; or because to a mother 
it belongs to concieve, bring forth, and educate her oflspring." 

From the third question : " Those who are united in the fourth 
degree of kindred, a boy before his fourteenth year and a girl be- 
fore her twelfth, ages which have been appointed by the laws, can- 
not be fit to enter upon the just engagements (of marriage). "f 

The Ifission Book on Marriage Preparations, 

"Parents who love their children will never allow them (those 
who are engaged) to associate freely together, out of their presence, 
and least of all when they are already promised to each other. 
All secret interviews, lonely walks, and every familiarity, contrary 
to Christian decorum, ought to be prohibited." J 

* Can. i., iii., x., xi., xii., de Sacr. Matr. ; and cap. i., v., x., de Reform. 
Matr.. sess. xxiv. Cone. Trid. 

t Quest, ii. et iii., cap. viii. pars ii., Catecli. Trid. Lipsise, 1865. 
X Mission Book, p. 335. N. Y., 1866. 



IMPEDIMENTS TO MARRIAGE. 241 

" Never let it be forgotten that marriage is a sacrament, and 
must be received in a state of grace ... to avoid committing a 
sacrilege, and also to deserve more fully the blessing of God upon 
their union, the parties affianced ought to purify their hearts by a 
good confession, and on the very morning of their marriage re- 
ceive the holy communion. It is sometimes advisable to make 
even a general confession, or at least a revicAv of several years, 
either to remedy the errors of a past sensual life, or in order to 
enter with more thorough and perfect dispositions into a state so 
new and responsible." * 

Impediments to Marriage which annul it when contracted. 

" Marriage is forbidden between third cousins or any nearer de- 
gree of kindred : and this impediment exists when the relation- 
ship arises from an illegitimate birth." 

" It is forbidden to marry the third cousin or any nearer rela- 
tion of one^s former husband or loife.^^ 

" Spiritual affinity is a species of relationship contracted by 
means of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. For this 
reason, parents cannot marry with the sponsors of their child or 
toith any person who baptized it; nor can sponsors marry with 
their god-children. So, if one baptizes the child of another, even 
although it were a case of necessity, he cannot afterwards marry 
either with the child or its parent." 



VOID BETWEEN A BAPTIZED PERSON AND ONE WHO HAS 
NEVER BEEN BAPTIZED." 

" All persons who have made solemn vows of chastity, by en- 
tering into some religious order, are incapable of contracting mar- 
riage; and so are all orders of the clergy, beginning with sub- 
deacons and upwards." 

" Marriages contracted without the presence of the parish priest 
and of two witnesses, are made nidi and void^' by the Council of 
Trent. In the United States, however, where the decree of the 
Council has not yet been published, those marriages, although sin- 
ful, are valid. [" The Council has been published in St. I^ouis, 

* Mission Book, p. 335. K Y., 1866. 



242 MIXED MARRIAGES PROHIBITED. 

New Orleans and Detroit. In these dioceses^ therefore, clandes- 
tine marriages are invalid/' that is, without the presence of a 
priest.) " It is a most wicked and detestable thing that Catholics 
should ever so far forget all dictates of faith and piety, as to be 
coupled like heathen before a civil magistrate, and EVEN SOME- 
TIMES BEFORE A HERETIC PREACHER, IN CON- 
TEMPT OF THE CHURCH OF GOD AND OF THE 
SANCTITY OF THIS SACRAMENT.'' 

" The bond of a previous marriage is an impediment which 

death only can remove For certain just causes, especially 

for adultery, they may live separately, but they are still married, 
and cannot marry again. If, after such a separation, or after a 
divorce granted by the law of the land, either party s?iould marry 
another person, it would be no true marriage before God, but an 
adultery." 

Prohibito7y Impediments ivhich involve Guilt in a Marriage, hut do 

not Annul it, 
" MIXED MARRIAGES ARE FORBIDDEN, VIZ., THE 
UNION OF CATHOLICS WITH HERETICS AND PER- 
SONS EXCOMMUNICATED BY THE CHURCH. ..... 

When some grave reason exists, and the danger of perversion is 
removed, a dispensation may be obtained which will make such a 
marriage LAWFUL. No VALID dispensation, however, can 
be given, unless upon dishonorable conditions." 

ON WHAT TERMS A PROTESTANT MAY MARRY A CATHOLIC 
WITH THE APPROBATION OF THE CHURCH. 

" First, it must be mutually agreed that the Catholic husband or 
w^ife shall enjoy a perfect liberty in the exercise of the Catholic 
religion; secondly, That ALL THE CHILDREN SHALL 
BE EDUCATED IN THE CATHOLIC FAITH; thirdly, 
Besides this, the Catholic party must promise to seek the conver- 
sion of the other by prayer, a good example, and OTHER PRU- 
DENT MEANS. When a dispensation has been obtained upon ' 
these conditions, the marriage may take place without sin (not, 
however, without disgrace) ; but still it must not be supposed that 
such UNNATURAL UNIONS are approved of by the Church. 



THE CATHOLIC MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 243 

She only j^crmits them reluctantly and MOURNFULLY. Slic 
forbids them to be celebrated within church-walls, or to receive 
the solemn benediction of the priest.'^ * 

The ordinary form of uniting in marriage in the Catholic 
Church requires the young couple to approach the altar, when 
the priest, habited in a surplice and white stole, and assisted by 
the clerk, who carries the book and a vessel of holy water, 
meets them ; he then asks them the usual questions, and receiving 
an affirmative reply, he orders them to join their right hands, 
over which he throws one end of his stole, saying: "I join you 
together in matrimony, in the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." He then sprinkles holy 
water upon them both ; after which he blesses the nuptial ring 
in these words : ^^ Bless, Lord, this ring which we bless in thy 
name, that she, who loears it, may preserve entire fidelity to her hus- 
band, may continue in peace and in obedience to thy holy ivill, and 
live akcays in the exercise of mutual cho.rity, through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.'^ The priest sprinkles the ring with holy water in 
the form of a cross, and hands it to the bridegroom, who puts it 
on the ring-finger of the bride, while the priest says : " In the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.''^ 
The married couple kneel, while a nuptial blessing is pronounced. 

There is a particular mass for marriage, with an epistle and 
gospel of its own. f Such is the sacrament of marriage in the 
Church of Kome. 

* Mission Book, 328-334. K Y., 1866. +Id., 336-7. N. Y., 1866. 



THE CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY. 

, The most cruel feature of the whole papal system is the enforced 
celibacy of the priests. Heaven never gave a greater earthly boon 
to an anxious toiling man, laboring with his mind, or working 
with his hands, than an affectionate wife. And no man needs the 
sympathies and encouragements of a faithful companion more 
than the minister of Jesus. To rob him of the one whom Provi- 
dence fitted to make his home pleasant and his life happy and 
useful, is a high-handed crime against the wronged, for which a 
retributive Providence inflicts its own punishment. 

A man with a loving wife and dutiful children has his sympa- 
thies drawn out, his affections cultivated, and his heart enlarged. 
His domestic relations only give him additional fitness for general 
usefulness. The man, without some such training of the heart, 
feeling that, while he has the respect of many, no one has any special 
interest in him, is shut up within himself, and is naturally careless 
about the joys and sorrows, of the world. The tendency of celi- 
bacy is to kill sympathy, to crucif}^ love, and to bind its victims 
in chains of selfishness that shall restrain every outburst of affec- 
tion and every generous emotion. 

Christ never instituted Celibacy. 

He ordained marriage in the sinless bowers of Eden. The 
first blushes of wedded love painted the cheeks of Adam's bride, 
before one stain of sin polluted man, or anything he touched. 
The Saviour's first miracle honored some humble wedding, and 
gave his approbation in the most emphatic manner to marriage. 

According to Paul, no class of men or ministers are deprived of 
wedded rights. " Have we not power," he says, " to carry about a 

2.r 



THE CLERGY MARRIED IN THE SECOND CENTURY. 24/3 

woman, a sister , as well as the rest of the apostles, and the brethren 
of the Lord and Cephas ? " (Catholic version, 1 Cor. ix. 5.) The 
word translated " power," in the original is authority ; the word 
rendered "woman" means wife as well. Cephas or Peter was cer- 
tainly married ; and the apostle's meaning unquestionably is : 
We have Christ's licence to take a wife, who is a sister in the 
Lord, as the other apostles, and the brethren of the Lord have 
done; and Peter. Eusebius quotes Clement of Alexandria as 
saying that '' Peter and Philip had children ; and Paul did not 
demur in a certain place to mention his own wife, whom he did 
not take about witli him, in order the better to expedite his minis- 
try; and that blessed Peter, seeing his own wife led. away to 
execution, Avas delighted on account of her calling and return to 
her country (heaven)." * 

In the Catholic version, 1 Tim. iii. 2, 4, Paul says: "It 
behoveth a bishop to be blameless ; the husband of one wife, sober, 
prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher 
.... one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in 
subjection, with all chastity (gravity, a^/xvotr^c),^' If Paul is 
right, a bishop ought to be a husband ; and ought to rule his 
house well, keeping his children orderly. In the Catholic version, 
Heb. xiii. 4, Paul again says : " Marriage, honorable in alV^ 
Then, if Paul was not mistaken, it would be respectable in a nun, 
a monk, a priest, a bishop, or even a pope ; and he who contradicts 
Paul tries to make the spirit of God a liar, who spoke through 
him. Apostles, it is said in the Holy Book, may lead about a wife; 
a bishop ought to be the husband of one wife, and marriage is 
honorable in all. 

The Clergy married, in the Second Century. 

Turtullian, arguing against second marriages, says to a widow : 
" That you may then marry in the Lord, according to the law and 
the apostle, if you are still concerned for this, have you such 
assurance as to demand that (second) marriage, which it is not law- 
ful for them to enter upon from whom you demand it, that is from 
the bishop who is but once married, and from the presbyters and 

Eusebius, Eccl. Hist., lib. iii. 30. 



246 BEGINNING OF CELIBACY. 

deacons tn the same state, aud from the widows whose society you 
refuse ? " * At this period marriage was the privilege of all the 
clergy — bishops, priests and deacons ; but only one union was 
permitted. 

Celibacy in the Third Centwy. 

Moshiem f gives a faithful record of the laws of marriage and 
of the growing conviction of the sanctity of a single life, when he 
says, about the third century : " Marriage was allowed to all the 
clergy from the highest rank to the lowest; yet those were 
accounted more holy and excellent who lived in celibacy ; for it 
was the general impression that those who lived in wedlock were 
much more exposed to the assaults of evil spirits than others.^^ Surely 
women have improved since then, or common sense has. Good 
men in the ministry to increase their usefulness, in view of the 
prejudices becoming current among the people, often doomed 
themselves to a single life. And many of the clergy, as well as a 
large number of the people, caught the plague of celibacy just 
beginning to affect Christians at this time. Still marriage was 
common throughout the ministry. 

There was in this century a great troubler of Cyprian, a presby- 
ter of Carthage, a man full of all wickedness, according to his 
bishop. Cyprian wrote a letter about him to Cornelius, Bishop of 
Rome ; and in it among other weighty charges brought against 
him, he says : " He was the cause of his wife's proving abortive, 
by kicking and ill-using her." % Cyprian brings no charge against 
Novatus for having a w^ife and living with her, but for his brutal 
treatment of her. 

The Beginning of the Fourth Century. ■ 

Two little councils gave the stigma, hy statute, to the marriage 
of the clergy at this period. One of these, it is supposed, was 

* Ut igitur in Deo nubas secundum legem et apostolum (si tamen vel hoc 
cura ) qualis es, id matrimonium postulans, quod eis, a quibus postulas, non 
licet habere, ab episcopo monogamo, a presbyteris et diaconis ejusdera sacra- 
menti, a viduis, quarum sectam in te recusasti ? — Tertull.^ cap. ii. de Mono- 
qamia, p. 126. Lipsiae, 1839. 

f Mosheim, 3d cen., part ii. chap. ii. sec. 6. 

+ Du Pin, vol. i. 122. 



CELIBACY AND THE COUNCIL OF NICE. 247 

held at Elvira, in Spain, about A. D. 305 ; its numbers were small, 
its intelligence, with the exception of Hosius, if he was in it, low, 
and its canons worthless. The thirty-third canon of this illustri- 
ous body of supposed Spaniards, " prescribed celibacy to priests 
and deacons," and its sixty-fifth declares that, '' If a clergyman 
knows that his wife commits adultery and sends her not away, he 
is unworthy of the communion of the Church even at the point of 
death." * The latter canon shows that clergymen had wives at 
that time. 

Another insignificant, and almost unknown convention, was 
called the Council of Neocsesarea. It is supposed to have been 
held about A. d. 314. Its first canon says : '^ If a priest mar- 
ries, after he has been ordained, he ought to be degraded." Its 
eighth canon declares that, " If a clergyman's wife commit adultery, 
he ought to divorce her upon pain of being deprived of his min- 
istry." f It is worthy of remark that neither of these councils 
ordered married bishops, priests, or other ministers to forsake 
wives whom they had already wedded. 

CELIBACY AND THE COUNCIL OF NICE. 

This was the first regular council of the Christian Church that 
ever was held ; the martyrdoms which preceded it, the heroic 
sufferings of some of its members for Christ, and the presence and 
patronage of the first Christian Emperor, made it the most authori- 
tative assembly of ecclesiastics ever held since the Saviour's 
death. Into that body celibacy, full of rottenness and death, but 
sprinkled over with a delicious odor of remarkable sanctity, was 
dragged ; and an effort was made to impose its useless and infa- 
mous obligations upon the clergy. Paphnutius, an Egyptian 
bishop, was its most eloquent enemy. In times of persecution his 
right eye had been dug out with a sword, and the socket seared 
with a red hot iron ; his left leg was powerless, for he had been 
hamstrung by the same cruel hands ; he had been brought up in 
a monastery from childhood, and as all knew, he intended for him- 
self a celibate life in the future ; and when the decree came up 
for discussion, requiring bishops, presbyters, or deacons to give up 



* Du Pill, i. 593-4. Dublin, 1723. f Id., i. 597. 



248 CELIBACY AND THE COUNCIL OF NICE. 

their wives whom they had married when laymen, * ^^ The divine 
Paphnutius, standing in the midst of a crowd of bishops cried 
with a loud voice, saying : ^ Do not make the yoke of the priest- 
hood grievous, for it is said marriage is honorable, and the bed 
undefiled. Take heed lest by an excess of severity ye rather hurt 
the Church ; for it is said all men cannot endure the denial of all 
the affections. No one, I think, will be preserved in chastity 
when each man is deprived of his own wife. I regard the inter- 
course of each one Avith his lawful wife as virtuous chastity ; and 
that she cannot be separated whom God has joined, and whom the 
man once married when a reader, a singer, or a layman.'' The 
great Paphnutius uttered these sentiments though ignorant of mar- 
riage, because from childhood he was brought up in a monastery. 
Wherefore the w^hole assembly of the bishops, persuaded by the 
counsel of the man, were silent about this question, leaving it to 
the judgment of those so disposed, by mutual consent to leave 
their wives." Gelasius, Bishop of Csesarea, in Palestine, from whose 
'^ History of the Nicene Council '^ this is an extract, flourished 
about A. D. 476, and wrote about one hundred and fifty years after 
the council was held. Sozomen, who compiled his history, as is 
commonly thought, about A. D. 443, says : ^^Some thought that 
a law ought to be passed enacting that bishops and presbyters, 
deacons and sub-deacons, should hold no intercourse w^ith the wife 
whom they had married before they entered the priesthood ; but 
Paphnutius, the confessor, testified against this proposition ; he 

^lovy] 8J367]6s, Tcaytov* jbLvj 8apvv£t£ tov ^ryov -fcov lfpu)fx£vuv' tifxio^ yop, ^riOiVj 6 
yd/xos iv Ttdot, xai r^ xoitTj afxt^auTfo^. fx^ tvj V7ispj3o'kri r-/]^ _ dxpt,3fi-a5 triv 
ixx'kyjdlai/ ^aXkov npocf/ST^.a^'^^rf ' ov ydp, ^r^ni, ridvtas 6yi^acj9ac ^ip'^tv f/js dna- 
6elai -triv axTjGiv. ovbeii, w? oifiai, ^D^a;^&»2(JfT'afc sv 'fQ cfwejipoo-ui/i^, Tfr^ exdorov 
ya/xstTJi toy dvdpo^ lyt^fiov/jihov. nu.^poavvr]i' 8e xa%-qv xai rr;<; vofxijiov yafistrj^ 
axdatov triv avviKevatv %iyu>' ixri fxrji^ CLTto^svyvvaOat 'tavtrjv 7Jv o 0f6j £^fv|f, xai 
rjv ajtal dvayvi.i6't'y]S, ■^a'krr<; rj 'kaixog Civi^yaysto. xai tavtal'Kfyfv u ^iyaj Iltt^)- 
vovttai OLTtftpoj Civ yduov. bid to vyjTiioBsv £v daxr]'ty]pLOis dvtpB^faOac avrov. 
bib TtiKSO^i o Tids tutv STiiaxoTti^v nvXKoyoi tiQ tov dv8p6(, avi-t^ov'kia, drtsavyrjat 
7i£pi TOV ^riTyiua-tos rouTou, Tfvj yvut^vj xata'kT-^avrti; tdiv j^ov'koatvuiv xara avfi- 
<j)toi'Jai^ d7t£;i^fc'9a(. rr$ tSJa^ya^srr!?. — Gelas., Hist. Niceiie Council, lib. ii. cap. 
32, Cone, il 246,248. Labbe and Cossart. Paris, 1671-2. 



CELIBACY AND THE COUNCIL OF NICE. 249 

said that marriage was honorable and chaste, and advised the synod 
not to frame a law which it would be difficult to observe, and 
which might serve as an occasion of incontinence to them and 
their wives. . . . The synod refrained from enacting the proposed 
law, leaving the matter to the decision of individual judgment.'^ * 

Socrates, who wrote his admirable history about the same time, 
says : '*^ When it was proposed to deliberate on this matter, Paph- 
nutius, having arisen in the midst of the assembly of bishops, 
earnestly entreated them not to impose so heavy a yoke upon the 
ministers of religion ; asserting that marriage is honorable among 
all, and the nuptial bed undefiled ; so that they ought not to injure 
the Church by too severe restrictions. For all men, said he, can- 
not bear the practice of rigid continence ; neither, perhaps, would 
the chastity of each of their wives be preserved. He described 

the intercourse of a man with his lawful wife as chastity 

The whole assembly of the clergy assented to the reasoning of 
Paphnutius, wherefore they silenced all further debate on this 
point, leaving it to those who were husbands to exercise their own 
discretion in reference to their wives.*' f 

The Catholic Du Pin writes about this transaction : " The other 
story concerns Paphnutius, a bishop in Egypt, who resisted the 
canon which was proposed in the Council (of Nice) for obliging 
bishops, priests, and deacons to observe celibacy. This good man 
said, ' Though I have lived all my life in celibacy, yet I do not 
think that this yoke ought to be imposed on the clergy.' Some 
question the truth of this story ; I believe they do it rather for 
fear lest this story might j^'^'^judice the present discipline (papal 
celibacy) than for any solid proof they have for ^l" J 

There is no more ground for doubt about the decision of the 
Council of Nice in favor of the proposition of Paphnutius than 
there is for calling in question the existence of the council itself. 
Stanley says, ^' Paphnutius has been rewarded by the gratitude of 
the whole Eastern Church (Christian communities), which still, ac- 
cording to the rule which he proposed, allows, and now almost en- 



* Sozomen, lib. i. cap. xxiii. 

j- Socrates, Eccl. Hist, lib. i. cap. ii. 

X Du Pin, vol. i p. 600. Dublin, 1733. 



250 CELIBACY IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. 

joins, marriage on all its clergy before ordination, without permitting 
it afterwards/' * 

This discussion at Nice and the decision of the Synod give a 
death-blow to all the traditionary falsehoods collected and conse- 
crated by the Church of Rome to prove that clergymen who had 
wives renounced them when they assumed the office of minister, 
following the supposed example even of the apostles. The ancient 
Church, before the Council of Nice, never required such a sacrifice, 
and the Eastern Church never demanded it afterwards. The 
apostles never set such an example, nor hinted at the propriety of 
perpetrating such a folly. 

While Du Pin asserts of the fourth century that, "Celibacy was 
obligatory on bishops, priests, and deacons, in the West,'' he ad- 
mits that, " This law was not established in the East^ f And he 
might have added that the obligation was repudiated by some of 
the first minds in the West, and rejected by large numbers of the 
clergy. 

Other Testimonies about Celibacy In the Fourth Century. 

The Council of Gangra, an unimportant ecclesiastical conven- 
tion, held in the latter part of the fourth century, condemned the 
errors of Eustathius ; and among the heresies it denounced was his 
rejection " of both the benediction and the communion of a pres- 
byter who continued to live with a wife, whom he may have law- 
fully married, before entering into holy orders." % Celibacy had 
not reached the height, in the churches, which it had obtained in 
the creed of Eustathius. 

Socrates tells us that, § " There have been among them (the 
clergy) many bishops who have had children by their' lawful wives 
during their episcopate." 

The council which deposed Paul of Samosata put another in his 
place called Domnus, ^' The son of Demetrlanus, of blessed memory, 
who before this presided with much honor over the same church, 

* "History of the Eastern Clnirch," p. 265. New York, 1870. 

f Du Pin, i. 629. Dublin, 1723. 

X Socrates, Eccl. Hist., lib. ii. cap. xliii. 

§ Eccl. Hist., lib. v. cap. xxii. 



CELIBACY IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. 251 

a man fully endowed with all the excellent qualities of a bishop." * 
Here a bishop's son succeeds his father by the choice of a whole 
council. 

Spyridion, Bishop of Trimithon, in Cyprus, flourished about 
A. D. 324. Sozomen speaks of the wonderful works which he 
wrought by divine assistance, and of his remarkable virtues, and 
he says that '' he was married and had children." f One of his 
daughters received a deposit from a friend, and for greater security 
she buried it. She died soon after, and the treasure committed 
to Irene was demanded from her father ; he could not find it ; and 
he was in despair. He went to his daughter's grave and obtained 
the information he needed from her spirit, and he discovered the 
treasure and restored it. 

The Council of Toledo, A. D. 400, by its first canon forbids 
priests or deacons to reach higher offices in the Church than those 
they already enjoy should they continue to live with their wives. 
This was only a trifling penalty. Any good deacon or priest 
would sacrifice promotion for a happy home. Its seventh canon 
gives clergymen, whose " wives do not behave well,'^ authority to 
bind them and shut them up in their houses, and it forbids them 
to eat with them till they had done penance ; the eighteenth de- 
clares that we ought not to communicate with the w^idow of a 
bishop, X or of a priest, or of a deacon, if she marries again. It is 
plain to the most unreasoning that at this time in Spain the mar- 
riage of all ranks of the clergy was a recognised fact. 

Celibaey in the Fifth Century. 

Synesius, Bishop in Cyrene, when appointed to the episcopal 
office refused to separate from his wife. " God," said he, " and 
the law, and the holy hand of Theophilus bestowed on me my 
wife. I declare therefore, solemnly, and call you to witness, that 
I will not be plucked from her, nor live with her in secret like an 
adulterer. But I hope and pray that we may have many and 
virtuous children.'^ § Synesius was duly installed, and highly 
respected notwithstanding his wife. 

* Eusebius, lib. vii. cap. xxx. f Sozomen, lib. 1. cap. xi. 

X Du Pin, i. 627. Dublin, 1723. 

^ Milman's " Historj^ of Christianity," p. 453. N. Y., 1841. 



252 CELIBACY IN THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES. 

The Council of Carthage, held about a. d. 418, in canon 
twenty-one forbids clergymen's sons to marry heretical or heathen 
wives.* Surely at this time the sons of ministers were a recog- 
nized and somewhat numerous class in the African churches. 

It was ordered by a council held in Ireland, a. d. 456, in its 
sixth canon, that the wives of ecclesiastics from the doorkeeper to 
the priest should never go around otherwise than veiled. f Show- 
ing that at this period the ministers of the infant Church of Ire- 
land were allowed to marry. 

The Sixth Century. 

Celibacy in the West made some progress in this age. Yet we 
have the testimony of venerable Bede that Gregory the Great, 
Pope of Rome, who died A. d. 605, was the great grandson of an- 
other pope. Says he : " Gregory was by nation a Roman, son of 
Gordian, deducing his race from ancestors that were not only 
noble, but religious. And Felix, once bishop of the same aposto- 
lical see, a man of great honor in Christ, and in his Church, was 
his great grandfather." J Felix was Bishop of Rome early in 
the sixth century, and must have been married, notwithstanding 
the matrimonial prohibitions of Pope Siricius, A. D. 385. 

In the Seventh Century. 

The Council of Trullo, held in the tower of the emperor's pal- 
ace called Trullus, in its thirteenth canon prohibits '' THE SEP- 
ARATION OF PRESBYTERS, DEACONS, OR SUB- 
DEACONS FROM THEIR WIVES, OR BINDING 
THEM TO CHASTITY BEFORE THEY ARE OR- 
DAINED." § This council was held A. d. 692. 

The forty-eighth canon of this council ordered the wives of 
those who where made bishops to be put away from them into a 
monastery, at a distance from their husbands. 



* Du Pin, i. 638. Dublin, 1723. 
f Neander, iii. 53, note. Boston, 1869. 
I Bede's Eccl. Hist., lib. ii. cap. i. 
§ Du Pin, ii. 24. Dublin, 1724. 



GREGOKY VII. AND CELIBACY. 253 

Celibacy in the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Centuries. 

In the ninth century the wives of priests were openly acknow- 
ledged, and Avere known as priestesses ; and their husbands were 
oharged with marrying off their daughters, with churches for 
dowries. Later still, there were four married bishops in Brittany 
in France; those of Quimper, Yannes, Rennes, and Nantes. 
The Bishop of Dole made free with the property of the Church 
to set up his daughters in wedded splendor. The priest's wife 
took her place near her husband, and not far from the altar ; and 
the wife of the bishop claimed precedency over a countess. 
Throughout the whole of Normandy the priests married wives, 
and became fathers of sons and daughters, to whom they frequently 
left their churches.* And w^hile there was a sort of conviction 
that it was more pious in a clergyman not to marry, yet no one 
regarded his matrimonial relations as a crime. Among the lower 
orders of the priesthood marriage was most prevalent. 

Gregory VIL and Celibacy. 

This pontiff, on his accession to the papal throne, found priests 
in every direction, either with faithful wives or base mistresses, 
surrounded by children rendering them dependent upon the 
wealthy, or upon the Church to secure a comfortable settlement 
for their families ; and as his ruling idea was to make the Church 
queen of the rich, of the great, and of all governments, he at 
once resolved to break up the families of priests ; and by this step 
to make the ministers of the Church independent of the patron- 
age of the wealthy and powerful. He assembled a synod at 
Rome, A. D. 1074, and forthwith decrees were issued ordering an 
immediate separation between priests and women. These laws 
were recommended by the most ferocious threatenings ; and at 
first some " yielded, pretending that it was right, for the sake of 
gain and vain boasting, but many added adultery to incontinence. 
Moreover, few regarded continency,'' f that is, nearly all the clergy 
were living with wives, or were the associates of immoral women. 

* Michelet's " History of France," vol. i. pp. 193-4. N. Y. 1869. 
t Matthew Paris, at a. d. 1074. 



254 GRZcr.r.Y vii. and celibacy. 

The most Intense excitement spread throughout France, Ger- 
many, and Italy. The decree of Gregory came as if such a law 
was " entirely new and unheard of,^^ * a wicked and unprovoked 
invasion of the dearest earthly rights of innocent persons. 
Frenzied indignation burst forth in tens of thousands of breasts. 
Ministers of the Church felt that their wives and children were 
to be driven from them by the ruthless hands of papal but 
unsanctified tyranny; they saw a fierce sword suspended over 
everything dear to them on earth; they must either relinquish 
their churches or dismiss their wives and children. There were 
thousands of sacerdotal families, in each one of which a moral 
and kind priest was the husband and father ; no. voice with 
authority, beyond the canon of some petty council or the letter of 
some intermeddling pope, to whose intrusive declarations no atten- 
tion was paid, had ever condemned the relations of these loving 
husbands and wives, parents and children ; but the hour of wrath 
had come, and these dear ones must be torn apart and scattered. 
If the priest retains his living, his conscience, his cheerless home, 
and the reproachful looks and words of his banished loved ones, 
will persecute him till his dying day. If he gives up his priest- 
hood, and follows his companion and their children, want and 
ecclesiastical curses will pursue him to the grave, or to the limits 
of the earth. Gregory knew no pity ; and he was equally igno- 
rant of Christianity. He revelled in destroying the peace of 
hosts to serve his empty and wicked ambition, as the lion rejoices 
in the dying throes of its prey. 

These meii, in their desperation looked with contempt upon 
Gregory's papal pretensions, and denounced him as guilty of 
grievous error. They declared that he contradicted the Saviour, 
who said that all men could not live continently ; and Paul, who 
commands those who could not live continently to marry. They 
affirmed that Gregory's decree compelled them to offer violence to 
the dictates of nature, and required them to live like angels, and 
that if the pope persisted in his cruel course they w^ould abandon 
their churches rather than their marriage, and then he might pro- 



GREGORY VII. AND CELIBACY. 255 

cure angfcls to guard their flocks as he was not satisfied with men.* 
" We prefer/' said they, " abandoning our bishopricSj our abbeys, 
and our cures ; let him keep his benefices." f 

The Archbishop of Mentz held a synod at Erfurt to persuade 
his priests to give up their wives ; his efforts filled them with 
anger, and they threatened to depose or kill him. Such was their 
wrathful and rebellious obstinacy, that he found it convenient to 
defer the obnoxious measure for a time. The enactment excited 
the same hatred outside of Germany as in it ; in Lombardy, Flan- 
ders, England, and France. At Cambray this bitterness burned 
so fiercely that a man who said that married priests should not 
celebrate mass or perform any divine office, and that no man 
ought to aid them in such duties, was cast into the flames and 
consumed. J 

But Gregory had unlimited resources in his own vast mind ; he 
had an iron will ; he occupied a position invested, in that age, 
with enormous powers. He had undoubtedly made his calcula- 
tions beforehand, and he kept by his purpose with the tenacity and 
unchangeableness of a demon. 

He placed the lewd monk and licentious priest, and these were 
a most numerous and odious class, with the married vicar ; he 
denounced the marriage of a priest as illegal and unchaste from 
the beginning ; and he spoke of it as a pretended marriage ; and 
then he appealed to all moral people in Europe who hated clerical 
debauchery, to assist him in cleansing the polluted Church. 

The enemies of vice everywhere assisted Gregory in his com- 
bined work, a labor at once eminently holy and atrociously 
wicked. 

He wrote letters to all princes and bishops, warmly appealing to 
them for aid in the removal of adulteries from the Church. A 
labor which even the abandoned could scarcely discourage, for all 
felt that ecclesiastics and churches should be holy. 

Then Gregory gave the laity authority to burn § the tithes due 
to married priests, which, of course were paid in products of the 

* Du Pin, vol. ii. p. 212. Dublin, 1724. 
« t Michelet's "Hist, of France," vol. i. p. 195. K Y., 1869. 
t Dn Pin, vol. ii. p. 213. Dublin, 1724. 
§ Matthew of Westminster, at a. d. 1075. 



256 GREGORY VII. AND CELIBACY. 

soil. And as clergymen in that age, married and single, were far 
from popular; and as laymen were quite as selfish then as at 
present ; and as they were perfectly competent to say that they 
had burned a quantity of titlies which were at home in their gar- 
ners, the flock of every married priest were peculiarly interested 
in plundering and destroying him. 

Besides Gregory commanded the laity not to hear mass from 
married priests. And as religion in those days was a list of sense- 
less ceremonies which the people despised, they took advantage of 
Gregory's hatred to the wedded priests, to show their contempt for 
religion generally. They polluted the sacraments, and held dis- 
cussions about them ; they baptized children, using the wax of the 
ears instead of holy chrism ; they trampled upon the '^ body of the 
Lord consecrated by married priests, and poured out his blood " 
upon the ground. * Gregory nearly raised a general rebellion 
against the Christian religion in some regions. The people were 
Gregory's principal instruments in destroying clerical matrimony. 
By contempt for their services, by keeping back their tithes, by 
the severest cruelties the priests were compelled to send away their 
wives. But it was nearly a century before this iniquity suc- 
ceeded, f a crime of which the the old monk, Matthew of West- 
minster, properly says : ^' Some priests who had taken wives 
Hildebrand removed from their holy office, by A l^EW EXAM- 
PLE, and as it seemed to many, an inconsiderate prejudice, in con- 
tradiction to the opinions of the ancient fathers.'^ J Gregory's efforts 
were in the highest degree flattering. He triumphed over broken- 
hearted fathers, weeping mothers, and homeless children ; he 
gained a victory over purity and morality ; for truly did these 
priests tell him that by his compulsory celibacy he was ^'opening 
a wide door for all impurity of manners.^' § 

Thus Gregory, for the first time in the Catholic Church, gave 
general force to crotchets about celibacy held by some for ages ; 
and the character of a Church laiv to one of the most infamous and 
demoralizing customs that ever polluted human minds, withered 



* Matthew Paris, at a. d. 1074. 

t Kohlraasch's "Hist, of Germany," p. 147. N. Y., 1870. t At A. D. 1075. 

S Neander, iv. 95. Boston, 1869. 



CELIBACY IN THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 257 

the Iicarts of men, or sowed the seeds of immorality in earthly 
families. 

Celibacy in the Council of Trent. 

But though the pontiff was successful, somehow marriage had 
charms for priests as well as other men ; and in the discussions of 
the Council of Trent we find wedlock among priests in full blast 
in Bavaria, with many apologists in high positions. 

The embassador of Bavaria made a lengthy and able speech in 
the council, in denunciation of clerical celibacy ; and good Catholic 
though he was,* he uttered the most sweeping charges against the 
morality of the clergy. He represents the ungodly lives of the 
priests as sending whole parishes into heresy ; he declares the clergy 
infamous for sensuality ; he asserts that not more than three or four 
in a hundred lived without a female companion, between whom 
and themselves there was occasionally the bond of a secret or an 
open marriage ; and he affirms that the Catholics of Germany prefer 
a chaste marriage to an immoral single life. He then demanded 
the marriage of the priests, without which, he said, it was impos- 
sible in that age to reform the clergy. In his discourse he alleged 
that single life was not commanded by God. f The same view of 
clerical celibacy was taken by the Emperor Ferdinand, and 
Charles IX. of France. And among the clergy of the greatest 
prominence, the % Archbishop of Prague, and the Bishop of Five 
Churches, defended the marriage of the priests. The German 
clergy presented a very able paper to the council, stating that the 
Scriptures permit wives to priests; that some of the apostles were 
married ; and that Christ hinted at no separation after he called 
them ; that in the primitive churches in the East and West mar- 
riages were free until the time of Pope Calistus ; that single life 
is more to be desired in the clergy, but the frailty of human nature 
should be considered ; that if ever there were cause to permit 
matrimony to the clergy, it was in that age, that among § fifty 
priests there was scarcely one w^ho was not notoriously immoral ; 
that laymen were disgusted by the beastly behavior of the clergy, 
and that patrons of churches bestow their benefices upon mar- 

* Sarpi's "History of the Council of Trent," p. 527. London, 1629. 
f Id., p. 705. X Id., p. 747. § Id , p. 742. 
17 



258 CELIBACY IX THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

ried men alone. It farther declared that it seemed a great absurdity 
not to admit married priests and to tolerate unchaste ones, and if 
these two classes were removed the churches would be without min- 
isters. Stronger arguments were never used by the most eloquent 
Protestants against this impious tyranny of Rome than were pre- 
sented repeatedly in the Council of Trent. 

But the advocates of priestly celibacy were skilful, and fully 
conscious of the vast advantages the system gave the pontiffs, not- 
withstanding its immoral tendencies, they said, with Cardinal 
Rodolpho Pio di Carpi, * '' That priests having house, wife, and 
children, will not depend on the pope, but their prince, and their 
love for their children will cast the Church in the shade ; that the 
authority of the Apostolic See will be confined to Rome. Before 
single life w^as instituted, the See of Rome received no profit from 
other nations and cities, ^ow the see is the patron of many 
benefices of wdiich the marriage of priests would deprive it.^^ Celi- 
bacy was defended in the council by arguments drawn from cus- 
tom ; from the inability of the popes to release a priest from the 
vow of chastity ; from extravagant assertions that no church ever 
allowed priests to marry ; and from the falsehood that celibacy was 
an apostolical tradition. Iniquity triumphed ; and impurity, under 
the name of celibacy, was more firmly established than ever. 

The Needless Cruelty of Celihacy. 

It is well known that the Greek clergy are married, and always 
have been. Stanley says : " It is a startling sight to the traveller, 
after long wanderings in the south of Europe, to find himself in 
the mountains of Greece or Asia Minor, once more under the 
roof of a married pastor, and to see the table of the -parish priest 
furnished, as it might be in Protestant England or Switzerland, 
by the hands of an acknowledged wife. The bishops, indeed, 
being selected from the monasteries, are single. But the parochial 
clergy, that is the whole body of the clergy as such, though they 
cannot marry after their ordination, must be alicays married before 
they enter on their office.^^ f 

* Sarpi, p. 742. 

\ " History of the Eastera Church," p. 180. 



THE MARONITES. 259 

The Council of Florence, which adjourned A. D. 1442, had as a 
part of its business a proposal to unite the Greek and Latin 
Churches. The Greek Emperor was present, and a number of his 
prelates. The points of difference were amply discussed, and a 
basis of union accepted. But in that proposed union there is not 
one w^ord about the celibacy of the Greek clergy. In the pro- 
jected changes there was nothing to touch their wdves, or stigma- 
tize their n\atrimonial relations. * And if Greek priests could 
enter the Catholic Church, and fill the same positions without 
separation from their wives, why compel German priests to drive 
away their wives ? 

The Maronites. 

This people occupy the mountains of Lebanon and Anti-Leba- 
non ; they have been united to the Pope of Rome, rather than to 
his Church, since the Latins invaded Palestine. They joined the 
pontiff on condition that they should change none of their ancient 
rites, customs and opinions. And at this day there is hardly any- 
thing Latin among them, except their veneration for the pope. 
But at Kome they are good Catholics, and have been held as 
among the most faithful adherents of Romanism for centuries. 
And yet all their CLERGY ARE MARRIED, f In thinking 
of the Maronite married priests, let us look at the ninth canon of 
the twenty-fourth session of the Council of Trent : 

" If any man shall say that clergymen appointed in holy 
orders, or regulars who have solemnly professed chastity, can 
contract marriage, and that the contract is valid, no matter what 
vow or ecclesiastical law opposes, and that the opposite is no other 
thing than the condemnation of matrimony ; and that all could 
marry, who do not realize that they have the gift of chastity, 
although they may have vowed to lead a single life; let him be 
accursed ; since God does not deny that gift to those seeking it, 
nor suffer that wt should be tempted beyond that which we are 
able (to bear). ''t 

* Du Pin, vol. iii. p. 35. Dublin, 1724. 

+ Percival, "On the Roman Schism ;" Introduction, p. 33. London, 1836. 

X Canones et Decreta Cone. Trid., p. 147. Lipsiae, 1863. 



260 THE MAEONITES. 

Here a curse is pronounced upon all who say that priests or 
monks can contract matrimony, and yet the Church of Eome 
says to her own Maronite priests, you can contract marriage, and 
while I curse all other priests, I will bless you. Surely this is 
the height of inconsistency, and of cruelty. The celibacy of the 
clergy is no divine, doctrine in the vieAv of the Papal Church ; she 
could take thousands of Greek priests without it and commit no 
sin : she can keep all the married Maronite priests without sem- 
blance of iniquity ; celibacy, then, with her, is really, as Du Pin 
says, '^ A matter purely of discipline, which may change according 
to the times/^ * which has sprung up from the married ministry 
of the early churches slowly, until, in the eleventh century, 
Gregory VII. gave marriage a fatal wound among the clergy, 
and the Council of Trent completed his work. But as celibacy is 
a mere matter of discipline, it is a piece of needless and atrocious 
cruelty to separate priests and their wives, or to prohibit a um'on 
for which God has made preparation in all hearts. 

* Du Pin, i. p. 601. Dublin, 1723. 



CATHOLIC JUSTIFICATION. 

The Council of Trent says : " If any man shall declare that 
men are justified without the righteousness of Christ, through 
which he has obtained merit for us, or that through that righteous- 
ness itself they are formally justified ; let him be accursed." * ^^ If 
any man shall say that justifying faith is nothing else hut confidence 
in the divine mercy, forgiving sins for Chrisfs sake; or that this con- 
fidence is the only thing by which we are justified ; let him be ac- 
cursed.'' t 

The Council of Trent boastfully declared that it was '' Law- 
fully assembled in the Holy Spirit," at the beginning of every 
important decree ; meaning that its decisions were all prompted by 
him who moved holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Ex- 
amine these two canons in the light of the Spirit's revelations. 
The first curses those who say that men are formally justified 
through Chrisfs righteousness ; the second curses those who say 
that confidence in the divine mercy forgiving sins for Christ's sake 
is the only thing by which we are justified. Paul comes under 
this curse, for he says (Catholic version, Rom. iii. 28) : " For we 
account a man to be justified by faith without the ivorks of the law.'' 
And if inspired Paul arrived at such a conclusion, we may safely 
sit down beside him and let the Council of Trent, lawfully assem- 
bled in the Holy Spirit, curse him and us. 

* Si quis dixerit, homines sine Christi justitia, per quam nobis meruit, jus- 
tificari, aut per earn ipsam formaliter justos esse ; anathema sit. — Can. x. de 
Justijicat, sess. vi. Cone. Tnd., p. 36, Ganones et Decreta Cone. Trid. Lipsise, 
1863. 

t Si quis dixerit, fidem justificantem nihil aliud esse, quam fiduciam di- 
vinae misericordiae peccata remittentis propter Christum, vel eam fiduciam 
solam esse, qua justificamur ; anathema sit. — id.., can. xii. 

261 



262 



CATHOLIC JUSTIFICATION. 



how nnrike the complex works of man, 

Heaven's easy, artless, unencumbered plan. 

No meretricious graces to beguile, 

No clustering ornaments to clog the pile : 

From ostentation, as from weakness free, 

It stands like the cserulean arch we see. 

Majestic in its own simplicity. 

Inscribed upon its portals from afar. 

Conspicuous as the brightness of a star, 

Legible only in the light they give, 

Stand the soul quickening words, BELIEVE AND LIVE." 

COWPER. 



The decree on justification has sixteen chapters and thirty-three 
canons ; it is very elaborate, and contains some truth and much 
pernicious error. Take it altogether, it is one of the most self-con- 
tradictory, gospel-denying, and detestable efforts which one could 
well imagine. 



PURGATORY. 

By purgatory is understood the place where the souls of good 
men are purified by fire after death. In the very early Church, 
Christians had no conception of any such place ; they knew noth- 
ing of any human abode where men could be cleansed from impu- 
rities but this world. Whately well observes : " Long after the 
time of the sacred luriters, a groundless notion gradually crept into 
the Church in days of ignorant superstition, concerning an inter- 
mediate state of purification of souls by suffering, from which they 
might be delivered by the prayers of survivors.^^ * 

At an early day it became customary to pray for the dead ; this 
practice was common at the end of the second, and throughout all 
subsequent centuries till the Reformation. But these prayers 
never hint that the departed are in a place of purification by 
suffering. They were offered up for all the Church triumphant, 
including the Virgin Mary ; they were often thanksgivings for 
their deliverance out of the sorrows of this life ; they were appeals 
to God for his mercy on account of the imperfections with which 
they left the world ; they used these prayers as an expression of 
their conviction that the departed were in the enjoyment of an endless 
life ; they were presented to God that he might have a special care 
over the faithful disembodied, and give them a glorious resurrec- 
tion in the appointed time. Most of the early Christians believed 
that martyrs alone entered heaven immediately after death ; that 
the rest of the saints were in another place of " refreshment and 
joy," where they anticipated more perfect bliss. And their 
prayers, doubtless, sought rich blessings upon them in this inter- 
mediate state. The conviction was common that there would be 
two resurrections, at different periods, and saints on earth plead 

* Archbp. Whately's " Future State," p. 48. Philada., 1860. 

263 



264 COMFORTS OF PURGATORY. 

for those in the spirit land, that they might enjoy the better resur- 
rection, and reign with Christ a thousand years ; and for these and 
other reasons, prayers were regularly oifered for all the believing 
dead, without the faintest idea that one of them was unhappy or 
in any process of purification by pain."^ While the idea of purifi- 
cation by fire was invented somewhat earlier than the sixth century, 
it was in that age, and from the Great Gregory f of Rome, that it 
was started in life, and sent forth on a career of gro'^iih and con- 
quest, never to terminate until its terrors should cover Europe 
with magnificent churches, and tenant them with myriads of priests 
whose most profitable occupation should be to lift souls out of the 
fiery horrors of purgatory. Purgatory in Italy is fitly called, " the 
priest's kitchen,'' j because it provides his living. 

The Regions occupied by the Departed. 

Beside heaven and hell, in the dark ages, purgatory was located ; 
it was placed next to the abyss ; the limbus infantum, or home of 
unbaptized children was near by ; and not far off was the limbus 
patrum, the abode of the saints who lived before Christ : this was 
the scene visited by Jesus, when he preached to the spirits in 
prison. § From early times it was called " Abraham's bosom " 
and Paradise. 

The Comforts of Purgatory. 

Venerable Bede tells about a man in Northumberland, A. D. 
696, who died, and in a short time became alive again, and who 
gave an account of what he saw when he was out of the body. 
" He that led me," says he, " had a shining countenance and a 
white garment ; he brought me to a vale full of dreadful flaiues on 
the left ; the side horrid for violent hail and cold snow; both places 
were full of men's souls, which seemed to be tossed by an angry 
storm from one side to the other ; for when the wretches could no 
longer endure the violent heat, they leaped into the chilling cold, 
and finding: no rest there thev bounded back again into the un- 



* Bingham, book xv. chap. iii. sec. 16. 

t Hagenbach's ''History of Doctrines," vol. ii. p. 126. New York, 1869, 

I "Novelties of Romanism," by Collet, p. 96. London. 

§ Hagenbach's " History of Doctrines," vol. ii. p. 130. 



COMFORTS OF PURGATORY. 265 

quenchable flames. It became densely dark, and my leader for- 
sook me, and I observed frequent globes of black flames rising out 
of a great pit and falling back into it ; and the flames as they 
ascended were full of human souls, like sparks flying up with 
smoke, which dropped down into the depths belo"w ^vhen the vapor 
of the fire ceased. 

^^ On a sudden I heard the noise of hideous lamentation, and the 
loud laughter of a rude multitude insulting captured enemies; it 
was a gang of evil spirits dragging the howling and lamenting 
souls of men, whilst they themselves were laughing and rejoicing. 
They went down into tlie midst of the pit of fire until I could no 
longer distinguish between the lamentation of the men and the 
laughter of the devils. Some of the dark spirits ascended from the 
flaming abyss, and beset me on all sides Avith their glaring eyes, 
and the stench of the fire which proceeded from their mouths and 
nostrils. They threatened to seize me with burning tongs, when 
my guide appeared and put them to flight, and took me into a 
scene of great light and hapj^iness.'^ He then explained to him 
that the vale so dreadful for consuming flames and cutting cold is 
the place where they are tried who delay to confess and amend 
their crimes, and repent only at the point of death, but because 
there was a change at death they shall be received into heaven at 
the day of judgment. But many are relieved before the day of 
judgment by the prayers, alms and fasting of the living, and more 
especially by masses. Such was the purgatory of the English in 
A. D. 696.* 

Charles, Monarch of the Roman Empire and King of the 
Franks, has a view of Purgatory. 

On the night of a Lord's day, in the year 885 A. D., this sov^e- 
reign was taken away in the spirit to deep and fiery valleys, full of 
pits burning with pitch, sulphur, lead, wax, and tallow. There 
he found his father's bishops in torments, who soothingly informed 
him that he and his bishops were coming to the same place. Some 
of the blackest devils with fiery hooks tried to seize him and cast 
him into the pits, but the guide protected him. He passed hot 



* Bede's Eccl. Hist., lib. v. cap. 13. 



266 A MONK SEES PURGATORY. 

streams and marshes^ and all kinds of boiling metals, in which 
were innumerable -souls of the people and nobles of his father, 
some of them immersed to the hair, some to the chin, and some 
to the waist in these boiling streams and metals. 

He beholds two casks, one with boiling and the other with tepid 
water, and his father in the hot water ; but he was informed that 
every alternate day, through the prayers of St. Peter and St. Re- 
migius, his father was put in the pleasant water. He farther re- 
ceived the assurance that two casks well supplied with hot Avater 
were waiting for him unless he did penance. He then heard the 
tidings from his uncle Lothaire, whom he saw surrounded with 
happiness and splendor, that his father would soon be delivered 
from pain as Lothaire and others had been. Such was the purga- 
tory of the ninth century. * 

A Monk sees Purgatory. 

In A. D. 1196 a monk of the convent of Evesham had a vision 
of purgatory. In it he beheld some leap suddenly forth from 
their place of torture and fly away as far as possible -, then he saw 
them, dreadfully burned as they were, assailed by the tormentors 
with forks, torches, and every instrument of torture, and driven 
back to their punishments. Though burned, pierced to the en- 
trails by lashes, and shockingly mangled, they Avere subjected to 
more tolerable pains. He saw some roasted before a fire ; others 
w^ere fried on pans ; red hot nails were driven to the bone into 
some ; others Avere tortured with a horrid stench in baths of pitch 
and sulphur, mixed with melted lead, brass and other metals ; im- 
mense Avorms Avith poisonous teeth graAA^ed some ; others Avere 
transfixed on stakes with fiery thorns ; the torturers tore them 
Avith their nails, flogged them Avith scourges, and lacerated them 
AAdth dreadful agonies. The monk declares that if he had seen a 
man in that place, who had slain all his relatives and friends, he 
AA'ould suffer any earthly death a thousand times to rescue even 
such a wretch from pains so dreadfuL 

He saw others plunged in fire at one time, and cast at another 
into a place fearfully cold ; devoured by volumes of flames, and 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 885. 



PUNISHMENTS IN PURGATORY. 267 

rising up like sparks in the air, they fell among the whirlings 
of the tempest, the cold of the snow and the beatings of the 
hail. He saw others jammed together like olives in a press 
in the midst of the flames incessantly. A goldsmith of his ac- 
quaintance, who was occasionally dishonest on earth, told the 
monk that now he was frequently thrown on a heap of fiery coins 
and frightfully scorched ; that often, with gaping mouth, he was 
compelled to swallow them and be burned in his stomach ; and 
that he was frequently obliged to count them and have his fingers 
consumed. 

Another punishment came from a multitude of worms covering 
a given space, as the courtyards of houses were covered with 
rushes ; and these were deformed and of monstrous size, with a 
dreadful gaping of the jaws ; they sent out fire from their nos- 
trils, and lacerated the crowds of wretches with a voracity not to 
be shunned ; the devils seized the men and cut them in pieces 
with their fiery prongs, tore all the flesh from their bones, threw 
them into the fire and melted them as if they had been metals, and 
then restored them for fresh torture.* Such was the horrible 
abode of which the priests were complete masters, and through 
which for many centuries the clergy became lords of the wealth 
and consciences of most Europeans. 

Of the tenth century Mosheim says : " The fire which burns 
out the stains remaining on souls after death, was an object of in- 
tense dread to all, nay, was more feared than the punishment of 

hell The priests perceiving this dread to conduce much to 

their advantage, endeavoured by their discourses, and by tales and 
fictitious miracles, continually, to raise it higher and higher.^' f 
Elaborate and cunning fables devised by men of considerable im- 
agination and intellect were these old visions of purgatory. And 
some of the leading features of these stories owe their origin to 
Mohammed ; the description of the intense heat and shocking 
cold of purgatory is the account he gives of his hell. And the 
purgatorial inspection which paints a bridge, crossing the pit of 
purifying fires, as excessively narrow, is evidently borroAved from 



* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1196. 

f Mosheim's Eccl. Hist., Tenth Cent., part ii. cliap. iii. sec. 1. 



268 THE GREEK PURGATORY. 

Monammed's bridge, spanning the centre of hell, by which the 
righteous reach heaven, which is as narrow as the edge of a 
sword.* The inventors of purgatory look well enriching Roma- 
nism from the treasures of the false prophet ! 

The Greek Purgatory. 

In the Council of Florence, when the points of divergence and 
of concord were presented by the Latin bishops and the represen- 
tatives of the Greek Church, Mark, of Ephesus, stated that, ^'The 
Greeks believed that the souls of (saved) sinners went to a place 
of darkness and sadness, where they were for some time in afflic- 
tion, and deprived of the light of God ; but that they were purified 
and delivered from this place of affliction hy sacrifices and alms.^' f 
While these agencies aid in the Romish Church, the help they give 
is in hastening the release of the soul from the torments of purga- 
tory ; they do nothing to assist in its purification. It is FIRE 
THAT PURIFIES. In the Greek purgatory there is no fire, 
and men are cleansed by sacrifices and alms. 

Purgatory in the Council of Trent. 

The synod says : '^ Since the Catholic Church, instructed by the 
sacred Spirit from the holy Scriptures and the ancient tradition of 
the fathers, has taught in holy councils, and very recently in this 
general synod, that there is a purgatory, and that the souls 
confined there receive assistance from the suffrages of the faith- 
ful, but chiefly from the acceptable sacrifice of the altar, the 
holy synod commands the bishops that the sound doctrine 
about purgatory, handed down by the holy fathers and sacred 
councils, be believed, held, taught, and everywhere proclaimed by 
the faithful in Christ Moreover, let i\\e bishops be care- 
ful that the suifrages of the faithful who are living — that is to say, 
masses, prayers, alms deeds, and other works of piety which it is 
customary for the faithful to perform for the faithful departed — be 
piously and devoutly rendered, according to the appointments of 
the Church; and that the things which are due in respect to them 
be discharged not negligently but diligently and accurately, either 

* Sale's Koran, Prelim. Disc, pp. 65-6. Pliilada., 1868. 
\ Du Pin, iii. p. 29. Dublin, 1723. 



269 

the things belonging to the foundations of testators or from any 
other source, by the priests and ministers of the Church, and others 
who are held to render this service.'^ * 

Butler's Catechism. 

This popular work gives these questions and answers on purgatory : 

" Q. What is purgatory ? 

" A. A place of punishment in the other life where some souls 
suffer for a time before they can go to heaven. 

" Q. Do any others go to purgatory besides those who die in 
venial sin ? 

"A. Yes; all who die indebted to God's justice, on account of 
mortal sin. 

" Q. When God forgives mortal sin, as to the guilt of it and the 
eternal punishment it deserv^ed, does he require temporary punish- 
ments to be suffered for it ? 

" A. Yes, very often, for our correction — to deter us from re- 
lapsing into sin, and that we should make some atonement to his 
offended justice and goodness. 

" Q. Can the souls in purgatory be relieved by our prayers and 
other good works ? 

" A. Yes ; being children of God and still members of the 
Church, they share in the communion of the saints, and the Scrip- 
ture says : * It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the 
dead, that they may be loosed from, their sins ; ' 2 Mace. xii. 46." f 

The Scripture just quoted is a mere human writing, not God's 
word; and not only without authority, but it is a wicked falsehood. 

Purgatory rests on no Scripture worthy of notice. And yet 
purgatory has been one of the chief builders of that mighty pyra- 
mid of folly and heresy — the Church of Rome. 

The dying thief entered paradise the day of his death ; when 
Paul was absent from the body he was present with the Lord ; the 
Scriptures know only two places for departed souls : heaven and 
hell, the scene of happiness, and the world of woe. Any other 
state or locality for departed souls is destitute of EXISTENCE. 

* Canones et Decreta Cone. Trid., sess. xxv., Deer. Purgator., p. 173. 
Lipsise, 1868. 
t Butler's Catechism, pp. 27, 28. Pliilada. 



INDULGENCES. 

Tn the primitive Church transgressors were condemned to long 
penances ; they had to appear either in front of the house of God, 
or in a part of it specially appropriated to the fallen, for two, five, 
and ten years, begging the forgiveness of the Church, and solicit- 
ing restoration to her communion. This situation inflicted the 
greatest disgrace, and continued the most grievous distress of mind. 
The ecclesiastical laws which governed religious delinquents w^ere 
marked by singular severity. But wiser and kinder counsels crept 
in, and penitents, who showed undoubted sorrow, were relieved of 
their penance earlier than old usage demanded. This abridg- 
ment of the long sentence of penance was called an INDUL- 
GEXCE, and really was the commencement of that system which 
reached its scandalous maturity under Leo X., and in the preach- 
ing of the immortal Tetzel. In that age no Christian knew any- 
thing of purgatory, or of the treasury of merits acquired by the 
saints, and dispensed by the pope ; or even of a supreme bishoj) at 
Rome, with authority over all the churches and clergy elsewhere. 
Pope Vigilius, writing to a bishop about certain penitents, said,* 
that it was left to his judgment, and that of the other bishops 
throughout their dioceses, if they approve the quality and devo- 
tion of a penitent, to grant him the benefit of an USTDUL- 
GEXCE : that is, to remove him from the prostrators before 
the end of the time appointed in his sentence. 

It would seem that among the Arians, as early as the fifth cen- 
tury, their presbyters were accustomed to recommend fines for 

* In aestimatione fraternitatis tuse, aliorumque pontificum per suas dioeceses, 
relinquatur, nt si qualltas et poenitentis devotio fuerit approbata iudulgentiae 
quoque remedio sit vicina. — Vigil. Ep. ii., ad Eleutherium^ cap. iii. 

27a 



INDULGENCES DENOUNCED IN ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 271 

penances ; and instead of seeking from transgressors such tears as 
procured pardon for Peter, they were only anxious to levy a tax 
upon the delinquent. * 

In England this practice, with some additions and variations, 
was very common. The money was not given directly for an 
indulgence, but it was bestowed upon the poor as an atonement 
for iniquity; and along with it pslams were repeated, and forms 
of prayer ; and a number of days was devoted to fasting personally, 
or by a hired deputy, with a view to secure remission without any 
protracted penance. In A. D. 747, a council of bishops was held 
at Cloveshove in England; and a wealthy man applied to this 
synod for the pardon of a heavy crime, on the ground that he had 
given so much alms, and secured so many to sing psalms and fast 
for him, that he had ample compensation for the sins of a hunrded 
years, if his life should be continued that long. The council de- 
cided that alms were not to be given as a licence to commit sin ; tliat 
they could relieve no transgressor from his appropriate ecclesias- 
tical penance, and that the singing of psalms was without mean- 
ing except as the expression of the heart. 

The same custom obtained in France, and had to be denounced 
by the provincial council of that country, meeting at Chalons, A. D. 
813. This synod condemned the folly of those who expected to 
secure freedom from Church penances by charitable contribu- 
tions, t 

At first indulgences were limited exclusively to church penan- 
ces, but in process of time they embraced all the temporary punish- 
ments due the soul on earth and in purgatory. Christ, it w^as said, 
had endured and removed the eternal penalties of sin ; but the 
sufferings, short of everlasting continuance, must be borne in purga- 
tory or be removed by an indulgence. 

The earthly sufferings could be endured by deputy. Any 
amount of fasting, flagellation, or pilgrimage work could be dis- 
charged by substitute, and throngs of monks in times of papal 
darkness v/ere competitors for the repulsive service. % 

* Neander, iii. p. 137. Boston, 1869. f I^o P- 138-9. 

X Moslieim, p. 564, note. London, 1848. 



272 THE FOUNDATION OF INDULGENCES. 

Works of Supererogation. 

When a hired man performs his allotted task for the day, he 
deserves additional reward or credit for any farther services he 
may render. Such labors are beyond what his agreement demands ; 
they are works of supererogation. So when a Christian leading 
a blameless life is persecuted, and killed ; as his sins did not draw 
down his suiferings, these pains, it was argued, were meritorious, 
they were higher than the measure of the man's deserts : these 
were the works of supererogation. It was supposed that millions 
of saints in heaven had left a legacy of such merits to the Church, 
and that in it she had a treasury of good deeds of immense value, 
incapable of exhaustion, no matter how many drafts, through in- 
dulgences, the Holy Mother might make upon it. Then some- 
times it was said that one drop of the Saviour's blood was sufficient 
for the sins of the whole world, and that all the rest went into 
this treasury, which the Church might give to souls in purgatory, 
or rich men on earth who had money to buy it ; or men not so 
wealthy who had some means. This was the PAID-UP CAPI- 
TAL OF THE BANK OF INDULGENCES. 

It is commonly agreed that Thomas Aquinas, in the thirteenth 
century, was the inventor of this doctrine. His description of it, 
from his distinguished position in the Catholic Church, and from 
his remarkable talents, must be interesting : * " Moreover the unity 
of the mystical body is the reason why they prevail, in which 
many, in works of penitence, render more than their debts, and 
many bear patiently unjust tribulations also, through which a mul- 
titude of punishments may be expiated, if such were owed ; of 
whose merits the supply is so great that it exceeds every penalty 
incurred by those now living, and especially on account of the 
merit of Christ Thus the aforesaid merits are the common 



- Katio autem, quare valere possint, est unitas corporis mystici, in qua 
multi in operibus pcenitentise snpererogaverunt ad meiisnram debitorum 
suorum, et multi etiam tribulationes injustas sustinuerunt patienter, per quas 
multitudo poenaruiu poterat expiari, si eis deberetur ; quorum meritorum tanta 
est copia quod omnem paenam debitam nunc viventibus excedunt ; el prae- 
cipue propter meritum Oliristi .... Sic prsedicta merita communia sunt to- 
tins ecclesi'ie. — iii., in Siippl. 25, a. 1 ; quoted Hagenhach, ii. 70. 



CLEMEXT YI. AND JOHX XXIII. OFFER INDULGEXCES. 273 

possession of the whole Church." Such was the grand foundation 
of the system of indulgences : first and chiefly the meritorious 
sufferings of the saints, in bearing more than was demanded by 
justice from them, and secondly, the merits of Christ beyond those 
which were needed to save from the eternal punishment. 

In A. D. 1343, Clement YI. issued a bull beginning with the 
words TJmgenitus DeifiUus, in which he proclaimed a jubilee, which 
was to commence in 1 350 ; and which was to be celebrated every 
fiftieth year. In this constitution the merits of- all the elect, and of 
the Virgin Mary, are said to fill up a vast treasure, which is 
increased by the merits of Christ not needed to remove the eternal 
punishment of sin.* This wonderful aggregate of soul-riches Jesus 
gave to the popes for distribution, a liberal disbursement of which 
is promised in the coming jubilee. 

In A. D. 1411, John XXIII. issued a bull against Ladislaus, 
King of Naples, in which after pronouncing the most hideous 
curses upon the king, living and dead, he proclaimed a crusade 
against him, offering the same indulgence to those who enlisted to 
fight him, as was given to the armed pilgrims who assumed the 
cross, and went to fight the infidels in Palestine. He promised 
heaven as the immediate reward of all who died fighting for Christ 
and his Church, with, of course, the full pardon of all their sins.f 
This bull offered the same indulgence to those who contributed 
money equal to the sum they would have expended in one month^s 
campaigning. 

John Huss denounced the bull, and especially the indulgence 
portion of it, and was led by it to a thorough examination of 
priestly or papal powers to pardon sin, and to a complete rejection 
of all created authority to absolve iniquity committed against God. 
He expatiated with honest indignation against the indulgence mer- 
chants, and especially against the language which they used in con- 
ducting their traffic, of which the following is a specimen : " By 
the apostolical power entrusted to me, I absolve thee from all the 
sins which to God and me thou hast truly confessed ; if thou art 
not able personally to take part in this enterprise, but if thou wilt 

* Elliott's " Delineation of Romanism," p. 309. London. 1851. 
f Bower's "History of the Popes," vol. iii. p. 174. Philada., 1845. 

18 



274 THE INDULGENCE MERCHANT OF WITTEMBURG. 

furnish help according to thy ability, I bestow on thee the most 
perfect forgiveness of all thy sins, both from the guilt and punish- 
ment of them, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 
Said Huss : " Through indulgences, the foolish man of wealth is 
betrayed into a false hope ; the law of God is set at nought ; the 
rude people give themselves up more freely to sin ; grievous iniqui- 
ties are lightly thought of, and men are robbed of their property." 
A profound sensation was created throughout Prague by the elo- 
quence and principles of Huss. Jerome fired the enthusiasm of the 
students by the same sentiments. The people sympathized with 
righteousness, and hated the vile frauds of Rome ; and to express 
their contempt for the indulgence iniquity a procession was formed, 
the papal bulls were suspended from the necks of certain lewd 
women, and, surrounded by a great throng of people, they were 
driven through the chief streets of Prague. The carriage occupied 
by the women was attended by men with arms, shouting : ^^ To the 
stake with the letters of a heretic and rogue." The documents 
were formally taken to a large fire and publicly burned.* 

Leo X.J Tetzel and Indulgences. 

Leo X. was a pope of extravagant tastes and expensive habits. 
And in A. D. 1517 he issued a bull for the sale of indulgences. 
That act was the most eventful one that had happened in a 
thousand years, or that should occur in the next millennium. It 
was destined to bring Protestantism from heaven to rouse up a 
slumbering world. That bull stirred up saints and heroes to 
shiver the tyrannical sceptre of ^^ the man of sin ; " to behold the 
adorable Saviour in his woes as the sole Redeemer of the sons of 
men, whose blood cleanses from all sin ; to pursue -the idolatries 
of saint and angel worship, prayers to dead men and living seraphs, 
the filth of the confessional, the festering follies of human merit, 
the wafer- worship of the mass, and the unclean system of celibacy 
in convents and churches over the nations and down theages. And 
these TRUE CRUSADERS will never stop in their efforts until 
they drive the paganism of the papacy into the abyss where it was 
born. That bull, under God, was the instrument in raising up 

* Neander, vol. v. pp. 383, 4, 6. Boston, 1869. 



THE BASE TETZEL. 275 

men of apostolic faith and zeal, who will never rest till they over- 
turn the ignorance, degradation, heathenism, and apostasy of man- 
kind, and enthrone the life-giving cross, with its healing blood, in 
the wounded souls of our lost race. 

JOHN TETZEL. 

This man belons-ed to the Dominican Friars. When he beo^an the 
business of peddling indulgences for Leo, he was over sixty years 
of age ; he had a voice of great strength ; in his way he was a man 
of moving eloquence ; his tact and facility for meeting all objections 
were never surpassed ; he had been predestinated by the Prince of 
Darkness for the indulgence trade, and had given all diligence to 
make his calling and election, and success sure; he lacked no 
qualification for his position. It needed a man without shame, 
and Tetzel had no such impediment ; it required a man destitute 
of truth, and John regarded falsehood as a daily pastime ; it de- 
manded a man without fear, and the agent of Leo was no coward ; 
it was indispensable that the preacher of indulgences should have 
no heart, and John Tetzel had no pity, and no love except for 
himself. John Howe speaks of the human soul being the temple 
of God in ruins : "^ his idea prompts the thought that all over the 
soul there are fragments of columns, cornices, and sculpture of rare 
beauty — that is to say, that there are good thoughts, desires, affec- 
tions, and purposes — -broken and defective, strewed all over the 
soul. Cromwell's chaplain, with the most charitable inclination, 
and after the most careful and protracted scrutiny, could discover 
none of these beautiful and broken remains in the heart of Tetzel. 
He was a monk and an adulterer, a sot and a preacher ; a man 
without any tinge of decency, and without one worthy quality. 
Such was Leo's indulgence commissioner. 

His Mode of Conducting Business. 

He and his companions appeared in a gorgeous carriage, fol- 
lowed by attendants finely equipped, before a city ; immediately 
the magistrates were informed that. The grace of God and of St. 
Peter was at their gates. Forthwith the whole population, of all 

* Howe's " Living Temple," part i. chap. i. p. 9. London, 1844. 



27G TETZEL AS A SALESMAN. 

ages, sexes, and ranks, with lighted tapers, went out to meet the 
monk ; and such a welcome greeted him as few men have ever 
received. Soon John was installed in the principa] church ; the 
pope's bull was spread out on a velvet cushion, a great red cross 
was erected near the altar, above which the papal arms were hung ; 
John ascended the pulpit and began : " Indulgences are the most 
precious and sublime gift of God ; this red cross has the very same 
efficacy as the actual cross of Christ ; come and I will give you 
letters under seal, by which the sins which you may desire to com- 
mit in the future shall be forgiven you ; I would not exchange 
my privileges for those of St. Peter in heaven, for I have saved 
more souls by my indulgences than he converted by his sermons ; 
there is no sin too great for indulgence to remit. If it were possi- 
ble for any one to have committed an outrage on the mother of 
God, let him pay, let him pay well, and it will be forgiv^en him ; 
indulgences not only save the living, they save the dead also ; 
priest, noble, merchant, wife, young girls, young men, hear your 
departed parents and your friends crying to you from the bottom 
of the abyss : ^ We are enduring horrible torments !■ a little alms 
would deliver us ; you can give them and yet you will not ! ' At the 
very instant the piece of money chinks on the bottom of the strong 
box, the soul comes out of purgatory, and flies upward into 
heaven. Oh, imbecile and brutish people, who perceive not the 
grace that is so richly offered to you Now heaven is every- 
where open ; now you can ransom so many souls ! Hard-hearted 
and thoughtless man, with twelve pence you can ransom your 
father out of purgatory, and you are ungrateful enough not to save 
him. I declare to you that though you had only a single coat, 
you would be bound to take it off and sell it, in order to obtain 
this grace. The Lord God is no longer God ; he has committed 
all power to the pope." 

Kings, queens, princes, and bishops, had to pay twenty-five 
ducats for an ordinary indulgence. Abbots paid ten. All with 
an income of five hundred florins, paid six. Those who had two 
hundred florins a year, paid one ; others only a half. A still 
smaller sum might be taken from poorer persons. 

There was a tax for particular sins. Polygamy paid six ducats; 
theft in a church and perjury nine ducats ; murder eight ducats , 



277 

and magic two ducats. For thirty crowns Tetzel sold a Saxon 
gentleman an indulgence giving him pardon for a nameless sin 
which he was about to commit. The Saxon flogged and robbed 
him, and was discharged by Duke George without penalty when 
he showed his indulgence. 

The Form of an Indulgence. 

"May our Lord Jesus Christ have pity on thee, N. N"., and 
absolve thee by the merit of his most holy passion. And I, in 
virtue of the apostolic power entrusted to me, absolve thee from 
all ecclesiastical censures, judgments, and penalties which thou 
mayst have deserved ; moreover, from all the excesses, sins, and 
crimes, which thou mayst have committed, how great and enor- 
mous soever they may have been, and for whatsoever cause. I 
efface all the marks of disability, and all the notes of infamy which 
thou mayest have incurred on this occasion. I remit the pain 
which thou shouldst have to endure in purgatory. I render 
thee anew a partaker of the sacraments of the Church. I again 
incorporate thee into the communion of saints, and re-estab- 
lish thee in the innocence and purity in which thou wert at the 
hour of thy baptism ; so that at the moment of thy death, the 
gate of entrance to the place of pains and torments will be shut to 
thee, and, on the contrary, the gate which leads to the heavenly 
paradise, will be opened to thee. If thou art not to die soon, this 
grace will remain unimpaired till thy last hour arrive. In the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 
Amen. 

" Friar John Tetzel, commissary, has signed it with his own 
hand.'^ * 

Tetzel was alone among mortals. As a man he was beneath any 
known priest or human being ; Judas would have shrunk, how- 
ever great the bribe, from signing a document so full of falsehood 
and soul-murder. A more wicked instrument never was written 
by human hands. And yet, such were the indulgences sent forth 
by Leo X., through Tetzel, Samson, and others. 

This infamous traffic brought money in heaps to Leo, to Cibo, 

* D'Aubigne's "Hist, of Reformation," vol. i. p. 181, 2, 3, 6. Glasgow, 
1846. 



278 THE COUNCIL OF TEENT ON INDULGENCES. 

his brother-in-law, and to the Archbishop of Mentz. And if it 
rebuilt St. Peter's, it erected, under God, the great temple of 
Protestant Christianity, in which fervent piety glows, and from 
which science, liberty, literature, and prosperity have gone forth, 
in the grandest earthly exhibitions, to bless the nations of the 
world. 

One of the most popular modern historians of Germany says : 
" The sale of indulgences was let out for entire provinces, to the 
highest bidders or farmers-general, and these again appointed seve- 
ral sub-farmers, who, for the sake of gain, committed the most 
shameful abuses. They selected men of eloquence and impudence to 
excite the minds of the people, and induce them to purchase by 
wholesale. They sold indulgences for the heaviest crimes committed ; 
for pillage of churches, perjury and murder ; nay, the promise of 
indulgence could even be obtained before the commission of the 
contemplated crime.'' * 

And such was the universal outcry against indulgences all over 
Europe that the Council" of Trent, while approving of the prac- 
tice, had to recommend restraints upon their issue, and prohibit the 
receipt of all evil gains from them. 

The Decree of the Council. 

" Since the power of conferring indulgences was given by Christ 
to the Church, and she has used the said power, divinely granted 
to her, even in the earliest times, the sacred and holy synod teaches 
and commands that the use of indulgences, most salutary to 
Christian people, and approved by the authority of sacred coun- 
cils, be kept in the Church ; and it condemns with anathema those 
who assert that they are useless, or deny that the Church has the 
power of granting them. Yet, in granting them, it desires that 
moderation be observed according to the ancient and approved 
custom of the Church, lest by too great facility ecclesiastical disci- 
pline be weakened ; and desiring that the abuses be amended and 
corrected which have crept into them, and by the occurrence of 
which the excellent name of indulgences is blasphemed by heretics ; 
it appoints generally by this decree, that all evil gains for procur- 

* Kohlrausch's " Hist, of Germany," p. 254. "NT. Y., 1870. 



INDULGENCES STILL IN EXISTENCE. 279 

ing them be altogether abolished, from which a very fruitful cause 
of the abuses among Christian people has been derived/' * . . . . 

Indulgences in some form exist still, the pitiable, decrepid skel- 
eton of the burly, insolent demon that flourished everywhere in 
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and excited abhorence and 
indignation in the sixteenth. 

* Canones et Decreta, sess. xxv., Deer, de Indulg., p. 204. Lipsise, 1863. 



THE WORSHIP OF RELICS. 

The most remarkable love for articles belonging to Christ and 
liis mother, and for the bones of departed saints and martyrs, 
sprung up in the fourth century and spread over the world. Every 
church must have its relic ; every village the remains of its pro- 
tecting saint ; and every populous city some bone of an apostle or 
something consecrated by the touch of the Saviour. In time the 
Relic Fever sent men all over the East in search of these invalu- 
able treasures ; and in execution of the task assumed, they dis- 
covered the resting places of saints hidden for five hundred or a 
thousand years, and they brought home heads of apostles, bones 
of prophets, and several coats without seam worn by Jesus. 

As relic worship grew the living Saviour was set aside for the 
bodies of his dead servants ; the meritorious anguish of his cross 
was rejected for the wood of his crucifix; his mercy-seat was 
supplanted by the shrines of saints, and the Name which is above 
every name was heard at distant intervals, while the powers of 
scores of saintly carcasses were lauded each day by millions of his 
professed followers. For centuries an unbridled furor seized the 
Christian nations, leading them to pay any price for relics; and to 
become the easy victims of cunning cheats who sometimes sold 
them the remains of heathens, or the bones of criminals of any 
creed as the venerable relics of Christ's honored friends. This 
form of idolatry first showed itself in the worship of 

Objects connected with Christ, 

The true cross was the most famous of all the relics ever wor- 
shipped. Helena,"^ the mother of Constantine the Great, in the 



280 



* Sozomen, lib. ii. cap. i. 



RELICS. 281 

fourth century, searching for it, discovered three crosses, and a 
piece of wood separate from them, with the words inscribed upon 
it in Hebrew, Greek and Latin : ^^ Jesus of Nazareth, the King of 
the Jews/' To find Christ's out of the three, by advice of Maca- 
rius. Bishop of Jerusalem, each was applied to a dying lady, but 
two of them showed no power ; when however the third touched 
her, she opened her eyes and regained her strength. This was 
decided to be the cross of Jesus. The greater portion of it was 
preserved in a silver case and kept in Jerusalem. A part of it 
was sent by the empress to her son in Constantinople with the 
nails by which the body of Jesus was fastened on it, and wherever 
the cross or the nails were carried they were honored with worship. 

The Cross of Apamea. 

After the capture of Antioch, about A. D. 540, by the Persians, 
the people of Apamea, who had possession of the true cross, ordered 
its guardian Thomas to bring it out that they might kiss it for the 
last time ; and as they expected death from the army of Chosroes, 
that they might obtain from it " Provision* for the passage to an- 
other life ;'' and they rejoiced in this " Precious cross as their 
means of transport to the better lot.'' 

The Cross carried into Persia. 

In A. D. 621 the Persian army is reported to have laid waste 
Jerusalem ; to have slain many thousands of the people ; and to 
have carried, off "The precious w^ood of the cross" into their 
country. f This loss was regarded as a heavy calamity to the 
Christian nations. 

The Cross in Constantinople. 

In the seventh century, in the Potunda Church of New Pome, 
during three days in "Holy Week "J a portion of the cross was 
exposed on a golden altar, where the emperor, court, army, clergy, 
and others went at different hours to kiss that sacred wood. 

* Evagrius' Eccl. Hist., book iv. cap. 26. 

f Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 621. 

i Butler's "Lives of the Saints," vol. ix 741. N. Y., 1853. 



282 EELICS. 

The Q^oss in Rome, 

In A. D. 695 Pope Sergius found in the sacristy of the blessed 
Peter at Rome a large piece of the Lord's cross^ which, every year 
on the day of the " Exaltation of the same lifegiving cross, is 
wont to be kissed and revered by all the people at Rome." * 

The Gi^oss in England. 

About A. D. 938 king Athelstan received as gifts a piece of the 
true cross^t a small portion of the crown of thorns, and the sword 
of Constantine the Great, on the hilt of which, upon thick plates 
of gold, was fastened one of the four nails by which Jesus was 
secured to the cross. 

In tlie year A. D. 1223 a clergyman came to England from the 
East, and sold to the monks of St. Alban a crucifix and two fingers 
of St. Margaret ; and to the monks of Bromholm in Norfolk he 
gave a cross made out of the wood on which the Saviour hung, on 
condition, that they would receive him and his two children among 
them. Immediately it began to work miracles ; it raised the dead, 
made the lame walk, cleansed the lepers, and cast out devils. 
" The said cross is frequently worshipped, not only by the English 
people, but also by those from distant countries who have heard of 
its miracles." J 

The G'oss in France, 

In A. D. 1241, "The holy cross of our Lord " was obtained by 
France through the king; his mother Blanche; and "by the 
grace of Christ seconding their pious wishes." It was purchased 
at a high price. The king the year before had secured possession 
of the Saviour's crown of thorns. On the Friday before Easter, 
" The king, with his wife and mother and brothers, riding in a 
carriage at the head of a procession, with archbishops, bishops, 
abbots, and other religious men, with nobles, and a countless host 
of people, raised the cross above his head with tears, and all 
worshipped it with due reverence and devotion." § When the cross 

*Matt. Paris, at a. d. 695. t Ingulph, at a. d. 938. 

X Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1223. g Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1241. 



RELICS. 283 

and crown of thorns reached the cathedral all the belis m the city 
were rung ; and as the king and clergy and people returned from 
the worship of the cross and crown of thorns, with clasped hands 
glorifying God, a sight " more joyful the kingdom of France had 
never seen/^ All Paris was enraptured by the possession of new 
Deities. 

At Venice there is a Fortlon * of the True Cross, 

And it, with a part of the Saviour's dress, and some of the earth 
which imbibed his blood, is exposed for the veneration of the 
faithful. 

Parts of the true cross are still exhibited at Rome f and else- 
where ; and the people are invited to adore it as if it had power 
to impart some wonderful gift. 

It is impossible to estimate the quantity of the wood of the true 
cross which existed at one time in Europe ; but it may be safely 
affirmed that there was enough to make a number of huge cruci- 
fixes. All this wood was devoutly venerated and preserved, as 
the most sacred earthly treasure. And yet there never existed 
credible evidence that one piece of it belonged to the cross on which 
Jesus was nailed. 

The Blood of Christ brought to England, 

In A. D. 1247, a portion of the Saviour's blood, J in a beautiful 
crystalline vessel, was presented to the King of England. It was 
attested by a document, with many seals, from the patriarch of 
Jerusalem, and the bishops, abbots, clergy, and nobles of the Holy 
Land, as a part of the " blood of our Lord which he shed upon 
the cross." It was received with the greatest reverence, and 
carried by the king, attended by the great and the godly, to 
Westminster, where the Bishop of Norwich preached a sermon 
expounding its glories, and declaring that " AYhoever worshipped 
this most holy blood would, by the permission of all the prelates, 
obtain free remission of penances for six years, and a hundred and 
forty daysJ^ His lordship of Norwich was not quite as liberal in 

* "Echoes of Europe," by E. K. Washington, p. 332. Philada*, 1860, 
t Id., p. 422. i Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1247. 



284 RELICS. 

his application of the Saviour's blood as the apostle John, who 
says (1 John i. 7) : " The blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses 
us from all sins/^ without limitation as to time. The monkish 
historian tells us, there were those who questioned the genuine- 
ness of the blood. 

The Lance which pierced the Saviow^s Side is found. 

In A. D. 1098, Peter of Provence had a visit from St. Andrew 
in a dream, who told him three times to go to the church of St. 
Peter in Antioch, in which, by following his instructions, he 
would discover the lance which penetrated the Saviour.'^ The 
lance was easily uncovered. And the people hearing the glad 
news, " flocked to the Church and worshipped so precious a relic.'' 

The Rohe of Christ is obtained at Zaphat. 

In A. D. 594, through the confession of a Jew, the famous coat 
of the Saviour was discovered at Zaphat ; f and carried by three 
bishops to Jerusalem. It was without seam. But it is difficult 
to see the proof furnished either by the Jew or the bishops, that 
this garment was ever worn by Jesus. 

In A. D. 1156, another coat of Christ without seam was found, 
by revelation, in France. And this robe, as the letters found with 
it showed, had been made by his mother ; and enlarged itself as 
he grew, j Several other robes of Christ have been exhibited at 
different times for the veneration of the faithful. 

The Likeness of Christ. 

When Tiberias the Emperor was ill, it is said that he heard 
of the fame of Jesus as a physician ; and that ignorant of his 
death he sent for him. His messenger became acquainted with 
Veronica, a friend of the Saviour in Jerusalem. She, on a cer- 
tain occasion, w^as taking a linen clotli to an artist to have a pic- 
ture of Jesus painted upon it, Avhen she met him ; and on learning 
her business, he took the cloth for a moment, and then handed it 
to her, bearing a likeness of his adorable countenance. § Veronica 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1098. f Id., at a. d. 594. 

X Matt of Westminster, at a. d. 1157. § Id., at a. d. 38. 



RELICS. 285 

brought her picture to Tiberias ; and it healed him the moment 
he looked upon it. This imaginary likeness is in St. Peter's at 
Rome now. * 

The Holy Staircase at Borne. 

In the Baptistery of St. John de Lateran, in Rome, are the 
marble stairs of Pilate's house in Jerusalem, down which Jesus 
came from the judgment seat, and which he stained with his 
blood; they are nearly covered with boards to protect them. 
They were brought through the air, as Catholics believe, ages 
ago, to Rome ; and they possess astonishing merit yet. Devotees 
in millions have ascended them. Luther passed over them on 
his knees to gain their matchless virtue .f And notwithstanding 
the light of the nineteenth century, and the jeers of Protestant 
spectators, pilgrims still ascend the worn marble stairs, devoutly 
kissing each step as tliey approach it ; and by this sacred per- 
formance securing an extensive indulgence. J 

The Cradle of Jesus is in Borne. 

The identical cradle in which the infant Jesus was rocked, it is 
imagined, enriches a great Roman Church, and claims the venera- 
tion of Christendom. § 

A Piece of Chrisfs 3Ianger 
Was in All -Saints' Church in Wittemburg when Luther began 
his labors in that city. || And in Wurtemberg, soon after, a 
vendor of indulgences, following his calling, wore a feather on 
his head plucked from the wing of Michael, || the archangel. In 
the Church of the Escurial, near Madrid, the Rev. Joseph 
Blanco White saw one of the babes of Bethlehem ^ which Herod 
butchered. 

A Garment of the Virgin Mary in France. 

Charles the Bald brought to France from Constantinople 
a certain linen garment belonging to the Saviour's mother. 

* "Echoes of Europe," by E. K. Washington, p. 429. Philada., 1860. 

t D'Aubigne, vol. i. p. 147. Glasgow, 1846. 

X "Echoes of Europe," p. 421. § Id., p. 529. 

I D'Aubigne, vol. i. p. 35. Glasgow, 1846. 

^ Gavin's "blaster Key to Popery," p. 339. Cincinnati, 1833. 



286 EELICS. 

The people of Chartres became the fortunate possessors of this 
article. ' 

^A^heii Rollo and his JSTorthmen, in A. D. 912, attacked Char- 
tres, the inhabitants made no appeal to Jehovah, nor any effort to 
gather an army, but hoisted the linen garment as a standard. At 
first the enemy laughed, and directed arrows at it : then their 
eyes grew dim, and they could neither retreat nor advance ; and 
they became an easy prey to their triumphant foes, who slew them 
without mercy. * 

The Hair of the Virgin Mary at Croyland. 

In A. D. 975, when Turketul, Abbot of Croyland, was about to 
die, he had the treasures of the convent exhibited to the brethren. 
And among these, according to Ingulph, one of his successors, 
was "Some of the hair of the Mother of God, enclosed in a 
gold box." t 

The Chains of St, Peter. 

The fetters which bound him in Jerusalem, when the angel set 
him at liberty, are sacredly guarded in Rome at this day ; and 
give their name to one of its oldest churches, j Where they came 
from no one knows. And it is pretty certain Peter was not the 
bearer of them to the Eternal City ; for he does not show any 
special love for them in his conduct when he was set at liberty, or 
in his epistles. The popes have rasped off filings of these chains, 
and sent them as presents to princes, and the sacred dust has often 
wrought miracles. § 

Peter^s Chair, 

The holy seat occupied by Simon, if he ever was in Rome, is in 
St. Peter's. || The chair is enclosed in a huge gilded exterior of 
bronze, and it lends sanctity to the noblest church edifice in the 
world. 

* William of Malmesbnry, lib. ii. cap. v. 

f Ingulph, at A. D. 975. 

X " Echoes of Europe/' p. 423-4. 

§ Butler's " Lives of the Saints," vol. viii. p. 262. N. Y., 1853. 

I " Echoes of Europe," p. 409. 



RELICS. 287 

John the Baptisfs Head. 

It was discovered by some monks of the Macedonian sect 
in the i^eign of the Emperor Valens, wlio commanded that it 
should be brought to Constantinople.* But the mules drawing 
the carriage in which it was conveyed stopped at Pantichium, in 
Chalcedonia, and no lashing or coaxing could move them one step 
farther. The miracle was clear, and there for a time the head re- 
mained. Subsequently, the Emperor Theodosius "prompted by 
an impulse from God, or from the prophet'^ removed it to a 
place in the suburbs of Constantinople, where he erected for it a 
magnificent church. Matthew Paris tells us of a head of John 
the Baptist, apparently a second, which was taken to Edessa in 
A. D. 761.t A woman in France was greatly favored by the vic- 
tim of Herodias. For three years she had prayed for one of 
his limbs; and then vowed to give up eating till her prayer was 
heard ; after fasting for seven days one of his thumbs was placed 
upon the altar of the church in which she worshipped. { It was 
wonderfully white; and though John had been dead 615 years, 
three bishops, in trying to tear a piece from it, drew blood. 

An Arm of St. Andreic and the Head of St. Luke. 

These precious relics were brought to Rome by Gregory the 
Great before he became Pope, that his monastery of St. Andrew 
might enjoy the glorious protection of the famous saints to whom 
the arm and head belonged. § 

A Thumb of St. Bartholomew. 

One of the most distinguished abbots of Croyland, the blessed 
Turketul, in A. D. 975, had a thumb of this saint ; and he set 
such a high value upon it, that "He always carried it about 
with him ; and in all times of danger, tempest, and lightning 
crossed himself therewith." || 

* Sozomen, lib. vii. cap. 21. 

f Matt. Paris, at a. d. 764. 

X Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 613. 

§ Butler's "Lives of the Saints," vol. iii. p. 571. K Y., 1853. 

)j Ingiilph, at A. D. 975. 



288 RELICS. 

St. Alhan the Martyr 

Had lain for centui'ies in a dishonored and unknown grave ; and 
ill A. D. 794, when the world was searched for relics, those of our 
saint were found. Offa, King of Mercia, as he lay on his couch 
one night, was warned by an angel to take Alban the saint up 
out of the earth, and to place his remains in a repository more 
worthy of them. The king knew nothing of Alban's resting- 
place; and no one on earth had any better information. He 
gathered a great multitude of his people at Verolamium, and he 
saw a " Ray of light, like a flash of lightning descending towards 
the sepulchre ; " and soon they found the supposed remains of 
Alban ; they were delighted beyond measure with their success. 
The thousands foricQ a solemn procession and carry the relics to a 
church singing hymns and praises. Alban has a new coffin, ex- 
quisitely fashioned of gold and silver and precious stones ; and 
for centuries is incessantly engaged in working astonishing 
miracles."^ 

The Ashes of the Prophet Samuel. 

In the time of the Emperor Arcadius, the relics of Samuel 
were found and carried to Constantinople with extraordinary de- 
monstrations of delight. They were- placed in a golden urn and 
covered with a silken veil. The highways from Palestine to the 
city of the Caesars were filled with an uninterrupted procession ; 
and the emperor at the head of the most illustrious members of 
the senate and clergy went forth to greet his extraordinary guest. f 

The Blood of St. Januarius. 

This saint was martyred in the fourth century. His head is in 
the Cathedral of Xaples, and some of his blood in two very old 
glass vials. Repeatedly he has saved Naples from destruction, 
when its citizens were alarmed by Vesuvius. In 1707, as the 
volcano threatened a fearful flood of lava, % his shrine was carried 

* Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 794. 

f Limborch, p. 34. 

X Butler's "Lives of the Saints,'' vol. ix. 718, 



RELICS. 289 

by the clergy and people to the foot of the mountain, and in- 
stantly its eruptions ceased. His blood is congealed, but when 
brought near the head it melts and bubbles up. It does the same 
thing regulary on his feast-day, September 19th, and on the 20th 
of December. If there is any alarm in jS^aples the blood is con- 
sulted, and if it melts all is right; and joy is universal. When 
the French * took possession of the city, the vials were examined, 
and there was no liquefaction, and the people showed signs of in- 
surrection ; but the French commander threatened to shoot the 
priest if the miracle was not performed in ten minutes ; and the 
blood melted immediately. Of course Januarius is the Deity of 
]S"aples. 

A City Protected by the Relics of a Martyr. 

In A. D. 540, Chosroes led an army against Sergiopolis. There 
were no men in the city who could resist such a chieftain. But 
the relics of the victorious martyr Sergius, f lying in a coffin within 
its walls, caused the miraculous appearance of innumerable shields 
all around Sergiopolis, as soon as the hostile army approached, and 
Chosroes and his hosts, justly alarmed, retired. 

V 

Simeon the Pillar Saint 

Spent thirty years on a column sixty feet high ; and after his death 
there was a controversy as to the place his remains should protect. 
The neighboring cities all wanted Simeon. J The emperor wished 
his guardian care. Antioch urged the strongest claim. Its people 
said : " We have no walls, for we have been visited in wrath by 
their fall ; we have brought hither the sacred body to be our wall 
and bulwark." And the old weather-beaten tenement of clay fell 
to their lot, and remained entire in their city, except some holy 
teeth, stolen by " faithful men " to shield them against calamity. 

St. Genevieve stops a Plague in Paris. § 
This lady was born about A. D. 422. She is the chief protec- 

* " Echoes of Europe," p. 568. 

f Evagrius, Eccl. Hist., lib. iv. cap. xxviii. X ^^^i ^ib. i. cap. xiii. 
§ Butler's " Lives of the Saints," vol. i 85 X. Y., 1853. 
19 



290 RELICS. 

tress of Paris. In A. D. 1129, a pestilential fever, with a violent 
inward heat and pains in the bowels, carried off in a short time 
fourteen thousand persons. The medical art was powerless. The 
clergy of Paris implored the divine mercy by fastings and suppli- 
cations, but the Lord would not hear them. Not so Genevieve. 
They carried her shrine in procession to the cathedral, and many of 
the sick were cured by touching it. And of all that lay ill when 
the appeal was made to St. Genevieve only three died ; and no 
others from that time took the disease. If this story were true, 
little wonder that God should be neglected, and St. Genevieve 
honored. And in such stories the Catholic Church abounds. 

Triumph of St. Martin. 

There was a bitter controversy between the friends of St. Mar- 
tin and St. German in reference to the powers of their relics. To 
settle the question, a leprous man, wasted to a skeleton, was 
placed between the two saints for a whole night; in the morning 
the side next St. Martin was healed, while the other was un- 
changed. '^ The next night the diseased side was placed along 
St. Martin, and in the morning the man was completely restored; 
both sides were free from leprosy. The monkish historian gravely 
remarks : " Thus the Turonians * (the friends of St. Martin) 
safely filled their common purse by the assistance of their patron.'' 

St. Guthlac^s Relics. 

In A. D. 851, a severe disease scourged the whole of England; 
it was a kind of paralysis, by which the hands and arms became 
useless, and were withered up; the attacks of this -malady were 
preceded by intolerable pains. At last St. Guthlac was remem- 
bered, and " innumerable multitudes of the sick from the whole 
land flocked daily to his most holy tomb, and sought the divine 
grace through the merits of the most holy confessor Guthlac," and 
sometimes in one day a hundred persons were healed. The num- 
ber of favored ones soon was legion, belonging to all classes of so- 
ciety, from Ceolnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury, down to the poorest 

* William of Malmesbury, lib. ii. cap. iv. 



BELICS. 291 

serf. And the abbot of St. Gutlilac's convent, after being tried 
by the utmost poverty, began " to abound in all things," * through 
the thronging myriads wlio gathered at the tomb of his patron. 

The Head of King Edmund Speahs after it was Cut Off, 

When Edmund was decapitated by the order of savage Hin- 
guar, the head was taken to the woods and thrown among the 
thick bushes and brambles, that his body might distress his 
friends when they found it. A good while after, Hinguar removed 
from that locality, and the followers of Edmund went in search of 
his head ; as one of them cried to another : Where are you ? an 
answer was returned by the king's head : Here, here, here ! f Nor 
did it cease speaking till all the seekers were gathered around it. 
And then a huge wolf of savage aspect embraced the head of the 
saintly king in his fore legs, where he had faithfully guarded it. 
As they took it away he meekly followed them till it was interred 
with the body, when he returned to his native wilds. King 
Edmund was a special friend of the clergy. 

The Relics of St. Werehuge extinguish a Fire. % 

Tn A. D. 1180, a desolating conflagration raged in Chester, of 
which St. Wereburge was patroness ; and though it threatened to 
consume the whole city, it w^as immediately extinguished, when 
the monks carried in procession the shrine of the saint, with de- 
vout prayers. It would be a blessing to have the relics of half 
a dozen such saints in each of our American cities. 

The Relics of St. Thomas Aquinas. 

Aquinas was a man of prodigious intellect and of immense in- 
fluence : highly cultivated for his age, and beyond it in many of 
his conceptions. § He died in A. D. 1274. One of his arms was 
out off in 1288 and given to his sister, the Countess Theodora. 
His body was carried into France, and received at Toulouse by a 
hundred and fifty thousand people, led by the king's brother and 

* Ingijlph, at A. D. 851. f Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 870. 

X Butler's '' Lives of the Saints," vol. ii. p. 343. K Y., 1853. 
§ Id., vol. iii. 532. 



292 • RELICS. 

by many archbishops and bishops. It now rests in a rich shrine 
in that city. An arm was given to the Dominican Church in 
Paris. A bone of his arm was presented to the Dominicans at 
Xaples, where his intercession delivered the kingdom from a public 
calamity. 

Thomas A^BecJcefs Relics. 

This saint was Archbishop of Canterbury. As a churchman 
he cared for nothing but the glory of the clergy. Had he been 
able he would have placed the king and nation under the heel of 
the meanest ecclesiastic in the land. As among popes, Gregory 
VII. stands forth unequalled in talent and tyranny, so A'Becket 
appears among bishops. 

If Providence had in ^Yrath bestowed a few more A'Beckets 
upon the nations in past ages, and restrained the hands of enraged 
menslayers, Christendom would have had no rights except the 
right to be governed by priests in everything, and scourged for 
each act of disobedience. 

The relics of this proud, unworthy man were the most famous 
and powerful in Europe. At his translation, his body was placed 
in a coffin elaborately vrorked with gold and jewels. "^ The clergy 
of England were represented by all the dignitaries and an immense 
body of priests. France and other European countries sent throngs 
of ecclesiastics. The nation was moved as if a new Advent was 
about to come, and all Europe felt the excitement. 

Kings visited his tomb for healing ; and nations might be said 
to have gathered around it for the same purpose. 

The most astounding fables are told about the cures effected by 
A'Becket. '^ The lame walk, f the deaf hear, the blind see, the 
dumb speak, the lepers are cleansed, the dead are made alive; 
animals and birds felt the power of his miracle-working relics." 
Wealth was showered upon his bones. A royal diamond was given 
by Louis, King of France ; J the church all around the relics 
abounded with princely riches ; with j^ure gold garnished with 
precious stones. The shrine containing the remains was about the 
height of a man ; it was covered with plates of gold, adorned with 

* Matt. Paris, at A. D. 1221. f Id , at a. d. 1171. 
X Butler's "Lives of the Saints," vol. xii. pp. 809, 10. 



RELICS. . 293 

brooches, images, angels, chains, jewels, and great oriental pearls. 
When Henry VIII. seized the shrine, its spoils in gold and jewels 
filled " two great chests, one of which six men could carry with 
difficulty out of the church." 

In one year there was offered at the shrine of the Virgin 
<£63 5s. 6d. ; at the altar of Christ, .£3 2s. 6d. ; and at the shrine of 
St. Thomas, X832 12s. 3d * No wonder that Butler says of the 
space before the shrine : " The marble stones remain to this day 
very much worn and hollowed by the knees of the pilgrims who 
prayed there.'^ 

His hairy shirt is in the English college at Douay, f a bone of 
his arm is in the Church of St. Waldetrude at Moris, and his 
mitre and linen, dipped in his blood, are in St. Bertins at St. 
Omer. But it would appear that Lord Cromw^ell, Henry's Vicar 
General, destroyed the miraculous power of these remaining relics. 
Here was a man who reached an end which Lucifer was unable to 
gain in Paradise ; he seated himself on Christ's throne in his own 
kingdom and turned him out of it ; and nearly expelled the Vir- 
gin Mary from the hearts of her worshippers. 

Relics were the most Sacred Things to sioear by. 

Asser, a contemporary of the celebrated Alfred, King of Eng- 
land, in his life of that monarch, speaks of a treaty which he made 
A. D. 876 with his enemies, which they confirmed with an oath 
over "the Christian relics, which (relics) with Alfred, were next 
in veneration after the Deity." J 

Four Coffers of Relics in the Holy Land. 

"When Saladin captured Jerusalem, he found four chests filled 
with bones, each so weighty, that four men could only carry it a 
short distance. These w^ere the relics of the saints gathered from 
the sanctuaries. Saladin ordered the bones to be sent to the caliph 
that the " Christians might no longer believe that they had as 
intercessors in heaven, those whose bones they worshipped on earth." § 

* "Facts on Popery," by Belcher, p. 14. Philada., 1845. 
f Butler's " Lives of the Saints," vol. xii. pp. 809, 10. 
X Asser's "Life of Alfred," at a. d. 87G. 
§ Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1191. 



294 THE SECOND COUNCIL OF NICE AND EELICS. 

At this, ^^ all the followers of Christianity were overcome with 
grief and alarmJ' King Richard heard of the calamity, and paid 
Saladin fifty-two thousand byzants to redeem the sacred treasures. 

Over the Christian nations for centuries, the most unaccountable 
infatuation seized men, women, and children about relics. Any 
price was given for them, and no man could overtask their sup- 
posed power. A dead saint was quite as useful as a living one, 
perhaps he was more powerful with God than if he were still in 
the flesh. When it M^as reported that Romuald, a man of reputed 
sanctity,* was about to leave France, he was quietly informed that 
if he could not be persuaded to stay, the people intended to kill 
him to secure the protection of his holy remains. Christianity was 
lost in the mad idolatries of relic worship during many dark cen- 
turies ; and in this crazy abomination the spiritual guides of the 
Catholic Church from the highest to the lowest were the leaders. 

The second Council of Nice, regarded by some as the seventh 
general council, enacted the following law on this subject : f " We 
decree that whatever venerable churches have been consecrated 
without holy relics of martyrs, shall have a deposit of relics made 
in them with the accustomed prayer. And if after the present 
time any bishop shall be found consecrating a church without holy 
relics, let him be deposed, as one that transgresses ecGlesiastical tradi- 
tion J ^ Here then it is broadly asserted that churches were defec- 
tive without relics ; that divine worship was incomplete without 
the remains of holy martyrs ; that all destitute churches must be 
furnished ; and that any bishop should be deposed who shall dedi- 
cate a church in future without a sepulchral divinity still bound 
in the chains of death. 

The Council of Trent says : J " Also the sacred bodies of holy 

* Neander, iii. p. 446, note. 

"f" oaoL ovv asTitoi vaoi xaOifpiltadricsav ixto^ ayt-cov T^fc-^dvojv ^apfvptov, opL^o/xsv 
sv avtoii xatdOsoov ysveaOaL Xsi-^dvuiv jxstd xal tyjs gvvyiOov^ ^vz'/j?' xal si arCn 
toi) Ttapovfof rtf ivpfOri iTtirsxo'siOi ;t"P''5 aytcov 'Kf:t'^dvu>v X(x9t,fpujv vaov, xcuBai- 
p?ff(?co, Li n:apa3f)3>7xw? ra? ixx%.yioia(^'tixdc, Ttapabosstc. — ConC. vii. 604. Labbe 
and Cossart, Paris, 1671-2. 

X Sanctorum quoqne martyrum et aliorum cum Cliristo viventium sancta 
corpora, quae viva membra fuerant Cliristi, et templum Spiritus Sancti, ab 
ipso ad eternam vitam suscitanda et glorificanda a fidelibus veneranda esse, 



THE COUNCIL OF TRENT AND RELICS. 295 

martyrs, and of others now living with Christ, which were the 
living members of Christ, and the temples of the Holy Spirit, and 
which are to be raised and glorified by him in an everlasting life, 
are to be venerated by the faithful. Through their bodies many 
benefits are bestowed by God on men, so that they who affirm that 
veneration and honor are not due to the relics of saints, or that 
these and other sacred monuments are uselessly honored by the 
faithful, and that the places dedicated to the memories of the 
saints are vainly visited to procure their aid, are wholly to be 
condemned, as the Church has already condemned, and now also 
condemns them." To worship relics is the duty of all the faithful, 
and not to render them veneration is a glaring crime in the judg- 
ment of the Council of Trent. 

The distinction which a Jesuit would make between the venera- 
tion and the worship of relics is one which the masses never under- 
stood ; and for dreary ages it was comprehended by few in the 
Catholic Church. The wood of the cross, the seamless coat, the 
images and bones of dead saints, the blood of St. Januarius, were 
long the gods of Christian nations. 

How strange it would sound to hear Paul say : " I am able to 
do all things, for I have a thumb of Moses with which I make the 
sign of the cross when great efforts are needed ! " Or to hear 
David say : ^' I have a thigh bone of Abraham, and it is my refuge 
and my strength, a very present help in time of trouble ! " Or to 
hear Luke say : " The Bereans are more noble than those of Thes- 
salonica because they devoutly venerate the head of Isaiah in a 
golden shrine ! " How singular John would have appeared pray- 
ing to God before a leg of ^lelchisedek ! Or Peter kneeling before 
the relics of Joseph and venerating them ! Or Philip, Stephen, 
Lazarus, and ^lartha and Mary, at their devotions in a chapel 
dedicated to ^' all saints," before a costly shrine in which were 
placed a tooth of holy Rahab, the mantle of St. Elijah, a finger 

per quse multa beneficia a Deo liorainibus prsestantur, ita lit aflSrmantes, sanc- 
torum reliquiis venerationem et honorern non deberi, vel eas aliaque sacra 
monumenta a tidelibus inutiliter honorari, atque eoriim opis impetrandge 
causa sanctorum memorias frustra frequentari, omnino damnandos esse, prout 
jampridem eos daranavit, etnuncetiam damnat ecclesia. — Canones et Decreta 
Gone. Trid., sess. xxv. p. 174. Lipsise, 1863. 



296 NO EELIC WORSHIP IN THE BIBLE. 

of Esther, some of Miriam's hair, the renowned coat of Joseph, 
and a foot of the mighty Jacob ! There is no record of the venera- 
tion or worship of one human relic in the Old Testament or in the 
New. There was not one adored relic among all the servants of 
Christ while he lived ; nor for two centuries after his death. And 
as it is written : " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him 
only shalt thou serve,'' there never should have been a trace of 
relic worship among the servants of God. 



MIRACLES. 

The most marvellous tales are recorded in the annals of Chris- 
tian superstition, and are doubtless still credulously believed by 
large numbers. 

St. Alhan. 

When St. Alban, in A. D. 303, was going to the place of execu- 
tion he was brought to a rapid river, and in answer to his prayers 
it opened a dry path for him and those who were with him. * On 
reaching the mount on which he was to lose his head, he saw 
crowds of persons tortured with burning thirst under a scorching 
sun ; immediately by his prayers, he opened a spring right before 
them to relieve their misery. After his head was cut off, the eyes 
of the executioner fell out of their sockets upon the ground. 

Constantine the Grreat, 

This prince was afflicted with an odious leprosy, to cure which 
he intended washing in a bath filled, with the blood of innocent 
children. Three thousand were gathered to be slain to furnish 
the required amount, but on seeing them Constantine shrank from 
such a horrible remedy, f Soon after, at night, Peter and Paul, 
by command of God, told him to send for holy Silvester, Bishop of 
Rome, and to be baptized ; and they assured him that he would be 
healed in his baptism. Silvester baptized him at Rome, we are told, 
A. D. 318 ; and '4n the font he saw Christ and was healed of his 
leprosy." " Constantine icas not baptized until his death was near, 
many years after 318, and the ceremony wa^ performed in Nico- 
media J ^ % 

^ Matt, of Westminster, at A. d. 303. f Icl-i at a. d. 318. 

:}: "Lite of Constantine," by Eusebius, lib. iv. cap. Ixi. 

297 



298 MIRACLES. 

St. Donatus, 
This mighty man once met a dragon, which raised its head to 
attack him ; without sword, lance or javelin he encountered the 
monster, and spat upon it ; the saliva entered its mouth, and imme- 
diately it expired. * Such was its enormous size that the people 
of the neighborhood yoked eight pair of oxen to the carcass to 
bring it to an adjacent field, where it was burned. 

Zosimas, 
Was going to Csesarea, leading an ass heavily burdened, which a 
lion seized and devoured. Zosimas being a holy man, followed 
the lion, and overtaking him, gave him to understand that if 
he wished to continue a wild beast instead of being changed into 
some domestic drudge, he must immediately come and carry the 
ass's burden to the gates of Csesarea. f All at once the lion 
fawned upon and followed him ; and like a grateful lion inside of 
which an entire donkey was lying, he bore the whole burden of the 
defunct beast and itself too, as far as he was required, and then 
returned to his den. 

James, Bishop of Msibis. 
In A. D. 359, Sapor, King of Persia, attacked Nisibis with great 
fury but with poor success ; for after a considerable siege the holy 
Bishop James mounted its walls, and entering a tower, he prayed 
that flies and gnats might be sent against the besieging hosts. His 
prayer was scarcely over when swarms of flies and gnats like dense 
clouds, filled the trunks of the elephants, and the ears and nostrils 
of the horses, and those of the other beasts of burden. J These 
animals failing to get rid of the insects became furious, threw 
their riders, broke the ranks, left the army, and fled away at full 
speed, and the king and army had to retreat. 

A Jewish Boy 
In the East was induced by his Christian companions to receive 
the body and blood of the Lord in the Church of " Our Lady." § 

* Sozomen, lib. vii. cap. xxvi. 
f Evagrius, Eccl. Hist., lib. iv. cap. vii. 
+ Theodoret's Eccl. Hist., lib. ii. cap. xxx. 
§ Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 554. 



MIRACLES. 299 

When his father heard it he was enraged, and cast the child into 
a burning furnace. Sometime after he was taken out by the 
Christians uninjured ; and he declared that the woman with the 
child in her arms, Avhose picture he had seen in the church, blew 
away the flames with her cloak, and protected him from the fire. 
This happened A. D. 552. 

Imma, who could not he Bound. * 

He was captured in battle a. d. 679, by Ethelred ; and his brother, 
a priest, supposing that he was dead, offered up masses for his soul. 
During the hours of each day when this sacrifice was celebrated 
his chains fell off. jSTor could anything bind him. The mass 
immediately liberated him. ^^ This story ,^^ says good, credulous 
Bede, " made many persons offer up to our Lord the holy obla- 
tion for the deliverance of their friends who had departed from 
this world.^^ No doubt that was the object of its invention. 

Clovis. 

This celebrated king was baptized A. d. 476 by St. Remigius ;t 
and as the holy chrism used in baptism was not at hand when it 
was needed, St. Remigius prayed that the delay might not prove 
hurtful, when suddenly a chrismatical unction in a miraculous 
vase was brought to him from heaven by an angel. The vessel 
was in the church of Rheims in the fourteenth century 

St. IlamertuSj 

In his church at twilight, saw the public buildings of the city of 
Vienne blaze with a great conflagration. % Every one fled to pro- 
tect his own property, except the saint. He stood before the altar 
and checked the power of the flames with the stream of his tears. 
And as the flames were immediately extinguished, the people, 
returning to the church ascribed the miracle to the holy man. 

Bishop John. 

In A. D. 686, § the wife of Earl Puch languished forty days 

* Bede's Church Hist., lib. iv. cap. xxii. 

"i- Matt, of WestmiDster, at a. d. 482. X Id., at a. d. 457. 

§ Bede's Eccl. Hist., lib. v. cap. iv. 



300 MIRACLES. 

under a painful disease ; and for three weeks she could not be car- 
ried out of her room. Bishop John consecrated a church near her 
husband's residence ; and after much persuasion, came home with 
the earl, bringing with him some of the holy water used in the 
consecration ceremonies. By command of the bishop, the woman 
drank some of it : and the diseased part was washed with the 
same precious element ; immediately she lost her complaint and 
recovered her strength. 

St. SwithiUy 

Was sitting one day on the bridge of Winchester, whilst some 
workmen were repairing it. A woman with a basket of eggs 
afforded malicious merriment to the laborers, who broke them 
all.* The good bishop, filled with sorrow for her loss, and touched 
by her lamentations, made the sign of the cross over the broken 
eggs ; and every one of them was restored to its original perfection. 

St. Dunstan, 

On one occasion took burning forceps and seized the devil by the 
nose, who caaae to him in the form of a beautiful woman, and 
tempted him to sin ; and he held him for a long time, till he 
changed himself into many terrible forms. f And when he was 
released, he polluted and tainted the whole air. 

St. Magnus, 

In A. D. 1002, Ethelbert and eighteen companions were in the 
churchyard of St. Magnus, J in a town in Saxony, dancing and 
singing profane songs. Robert, the priest, commanded them to be 
silent, as their voices intermingled with the solemn sounds of the 
mass, but they heeded him not. Then the holy man in his wrath 
cursed them in these words : " May it please God and St. 
Magnus, that you remain singing a whole year.'' And there 
they continued a whole year. The rain fell not on them ; nor 
did cold or heat, hunger, thirst or fatigue assail them. They 
neither wore out their clothes nor shoes. They persevered in 

* Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 867. f Id? at a. d. 990. 
\ William of Malmesbiiry, lib. ii. cap. x. 



MIRACLES. 301 

dancing and singing a whole year, as though they had been insane. 
Nor could they leave the spot till Herbert, Bishop of Cologne, 
released them. 

St. Kenelm, 

The heir to the throne of Mercia, was deprived by death of his 
father when he was seven years old. His sister, to secure the 
kingdom for herself, had him secretly murdered. The tidings 
though unknown in England, were published in Rome.* A dove 
from heaven bore a parchment scroll to the altar of St. Peter, with 
an exact account of his death and place of burial. But it was 
written in English, a mistake having been made in heaven about 
the lano-uao^e of Rome, and there was some embarrassment in the 
eternal city, until an Englishman was found who could read it. 

Robert de Broke, f 

A secular priest, found himself excommunicated A. D. 1171, and 
the dogs t became acquainted with the fact too, for when he was 
at dinner they would eat nothing which he had touched, though 
they were hungry, and greedily ate from the hands of others. As 
if to confirm the truth of the canine story, the chronicler immedi- 
ately adds : " The same year the bones of a giant were found in 
England, the length of whose body ^2& fijty jeetP 

Celestine F. 

This Pope is represented as extremely modest. On a certain 
occasion he rode to church on the meanest of men-carrying beasts ; 
and as he dismounted, a cripple entreated the people to place him 
on the Pope's donkey, and when the man occupied Celestine's 
saddle immediately soundness came into his whole system. The 
palsied was completely healed. J 

Vitalis, 

A wealthy Venetian, in A. d. 1195, went into the woods and fell 
into a trap intended for wild beasts, out of which he could not 

* William of Malmesbnry, lib. ii. cap. xiii. 

t Matt, of Westminster, a. d. 1171. X Id., at a. d. 1294 



802 MIEACLES. 

escape. Here he found a lion and a serpent, fierce and hungry, 
which like himself had been caught in the pitfall. He was greatly 
frightened, but making the sign of the cross on himself, neither 
lion nor serpent would touch him, though he was their unwilling 
companion a whole night.* 

A grateful Woman. 

Eustace, Abbot of Flaye, was a great preacher and no friend to 
the wicked one. A woman swollen with devils as if with dropsy 
applied to him for relief. At his suggestion she drank from a 
certain blessed fountain, after which she threw up two large black 
toads, which were immediately changed into great black dogs ; 
and these soon after took the forms of asses. On being sprinkled 
with water from the holy fountain the monsters flew up into the 
air and vanished. f 

St. Francis, 

The famous founder of the Franciscans, one of the most remark- 
able men of the thirteenth century, had a great miracle performed 
upon him. He saw in a vision a seraph with six shining wings, 
blazing with fire, coming to him in rapid flight from the highest 
part of the heavens ; there appeared between his wings the figure 
of a man crucified with his hands and feet stretched out and fas- 
tened to the cross ; after an intimate and delightful season the 
vision vanished, and his body appeared to have received the image 
of the crucifix. His hands and feet seemed bored through in the 
middle with four wounds, and these holes appeared to be pierced 
with nails of hard flesh ; the heads were round and black, and 
were seen in the palms of his hands, and in his feet in the upper 
part of the instep. The points were long and appeared beyond 
the shin on the other side, and were turned bach as if they had 
been clinched with a hammer. There was also in his right side 
a red wound, as if made by the piercing of a lance. Pope Gre- 
gory IX. attested the truth of this miracle in a bull issued A. D. 
1237. Pope Alexander IV. declared himself, in a sermon to the 
people A. D. 1254, an eye witness of the miraculous wounds. J 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1196. f Id., at a. d. 1300. 

X Butler's " Lives of the Saints," vol. x. p. 63. 



PAUL AND JOHN FORETELL PAPAL MIRACLES. 303 

There is no end to papal miracles. On reading these and very 
many others we could not avoid astonishment at two things : The 
icholesale creative poiver of the human imagination; and the iin- 
fathomed depths of mortal credulity. Paul foresaw the wounds 
of St. Francis and kindred prodigies when he wrote about " Lying 
wonders ; " * and John when he says of Antichrist, "And he 
doeth great wonders ; he maketh fire come down from heaven on 
the earth in the sight of men, and he deceiveth them that dwell 
on the earth by those miracles which he had power to do in the 
sight of the beast.^' f 

The miracles of Rome are continued still. Some years ago in 
Ireland the five wounds of Jesus were said to have been miracu- 
lously inflicted upon a nun. And after brief intervals, in some 
benighted corner of Europe, the Virgin miraculously appears, or 
some picture sweats blood, or some other prodigy startles the 
ignorant community, and is sent forth abundantly attested to 
demand the credulity of the " Faithful " in all lands. 

By such means the Infallible Church secured wealth, dominion, 
and wondering awe in past ages, and a legacy of contempt from 
the enlightened in Catholic lands, and from the Protestant world 
in these centuries of intelligence. 

* 2 Thess. ii. 9. + Rev. xiii. 13 14. 



THE INVOCATION AND WORSHIP OF SAINTS 
AND ANGELS. 

The worship of saints forms an important part of the religion 
of Rome. Saints have days set apart specially for them. Some 
departed worthies are the guardians of particular countries ; and 
others preside over special blessings^ or situations of peculiar 
misfortune. A proper conception of the idolatrous customs of 
saint and angel worship can only be obtained by examining some 
facts. The following are all selected from Catholic works. 

Guthlac is rescued by St. Bartholomew, 

When Guthlac located on Croyland, in A. D. 714, he built a cell 
and planned a convent. This very much annoyed the wicked one, 
who, during a dark night, while the holy man was praying, filled 
his room with foul spirits. These bound him and cast him into 
the muddy water of the swamp ; afterwards they dragged him 
over rough ground till nearly all his joints were dislocated ; then 
they scourged him with whips " made as it were of iron ; " when 
this torture was over, they carried him into the air, then they 
brought him to the gates of hell, and threatened to Imrl him into 
its flaming fires. At last St. Bartholomew, whom Guthlac 
specially worshipped, burst among the demons "with immense 
brightness,'' and tore Guthlac from their grasp, and sent him to 
his cell on Croyland.* 

The dead Guthlac answers Prayers. 

The monastery which he established was threatened by its 
neighbors during the blindness of the Abbot Thomas, A. D. 1415. 

* Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 714. 
304 



PRAYERS TO THE DEPARTED GUTHLAC. 305 

At this period the aid of niighty Guthlac was invoked in the 
following prayer : " How long, O Lord, how long will the sinners 
exult ? How long too wilt thou, holy father Guthlac, who didst 
formerly, in thy might, render demons subject to thy rule, allow 
malignant people to invade thy possessions, and to plunder what 
is thine?''* 

The defunct Guthlac saves his Abbey from an Army. 

In A. D. 1469, an army threatened the treasures and the exist- 
ence of the convent, " But," says the monkish Chronicler of St. 
Guthlac's ; " Blessed be God ! who did not give us a prey unto 
their teeth ! for thr'ough the ments of the most holy father Guthlac ^ 
at whose tomb, each night, in psalms and in prayers we offered 
up holocausts of devout supplication, the divine mercy dealt 
graciously with us.'' f 

Guthlac saves his Monies from Starvation. 
No bread is left in the Abbey of Croyland, and there is no corn 
in the granary; and there are no human means of obtaining 
supplies. Then the monks " putting their trust in the Lord and in 
the most holy father Guthlac," gave themselves to prayer before 
the tomb of their saint, and cried devoutly all night for his inter- 
cession wdth God. These requests, with sobs and tears, were 
repeated over and over again in the ears of the most pious saint, 
and the whole night spent in watching at his tomb ; when morn- 
ing dawned, as the brethren were performing their devotions in 
the church, a voice like an angel's thundered through the sacred 
edifice crying : '^ Receive victuals for the brethren." On looking 
around, four sacks of the largest size were found, two filled with 
corn, and two with flour ; and no man was to be seen. J After that 
favor, St. Guthlac drove away want till it was easy to secure 
supplies without a miracle. Is it any wonder that when the five 
new bells were to be hung in Croyland, and were to receive their 
names, that Guthlac should give his to the first, and that it should 
appear in such good company ? The bells were called : Guthlac, 
Bartholomew, Michael, Mary, § and Trinity. The most important, 

* Ingulph, at A. D. 1415. f Id., at a. d. 1469. 

X Id., at A. D. 1085. § Id., at a. d. 1465. 

20 



306 THE POPE AND DEAD ST. EDMUND. 

in the estimation of those who gave the names, coming first. The 
equal honors of Guthlac and the Trinity recall a prayer quoted 
by Seymour : 

" Jesus, Mary, and Joseph have mercy on us. 
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph receive my last breath. 
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph receive me now and in the hour of 
death." * 

The Pope apologizes to the Spirit of St. Edmund for not 
canonizing him. 

Innocent IV., an imperious pontiff, is said to have been greatly 
alarmed lest St. Edmund should take vengeance on him for not 
conferring saintship upon him; and suffering great pain from the 
stone one day, he retired to his oratory, where on bended knees, 
with bursting tears and clasped hands, he prayed, saying : " O 
most holy Lord and confessor of Christ, O blessed Edmund, be not 
very angry, because, being moved by the calumnies of envious 
men, I have very foolishly put off the honor of your canonization, 
to which you are entitled. For that which is not yet fulfilled, 
I do, without hesitation, now vow and promise you, shall be ful- 
filled in a magnificent manner, if my life is spared. Show me 
then this mercy, you who assist so many that are sick, to relieve 
me from my present sufferings, or at least to mitigate this terrible 
anguish. " f Soon after Innocent issued a bull carrying out his 
vow, in which he says if '^ For the Lord would not that the 
sanctity of so eminent a man should be lost to the world, but 
rather that as he had been notorious for a number of good actions, 
so too he should become celebrated for a diversity of miracles, 
that so he who had worshipped him with entire devotion should now 
reign with him and be himself worshipped.^' 

Blarnehe, the Mother of the French King, prays to St. Edmund. 

In A. D. 1247 the remains of St. Edmund, Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, were removed to Pontigny in France, where he was in- 



* "Evenings with the Romanists," p. 256. K Y., 1856, 
+ Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 1246. 



ST. THOMAS QUIETS THE WINDS. 307 

terred with great pomp, in the presence of Louis, King of France, 
his mother, and many of his nobles. Blanche, filled with veneration 
for the saint, kept vigils near his remains, and addressed him in the 
following prayer : " O lord and most holy father and confessor, 
Edmund, you, who at my supplication blessed me and my sons, 
when you, living in exile by my assistance, though I was all 
unworthy of your favor, passed through France : I entreat you 
confirm that which you mercifully wrought in us, and establish 
the kingdom of France in peaceful and triumphal solidity." * 
Edmund is not asked by Blanche to intercede, but to perform the 
work himself as if he were a Deity. 

St. Thomas forbids Shipwreck between England and France. 

In A. D. 1179 Louis, King of France, came to Canterbury to 
worship St. Thomas A'Becket, and after paying his vows to as 
arrogant a saint as a man worshipper ever reverenced, he thought 
of crossing the sea to reach his home. But the sea between France 
and England seemed very wide to Louis and exceedingly stormy ; 
he was frightened and despairing, and he prayed tomighty A'Becket, 
who was no coward whatever else he may have been, to grant that 
no one crossing that passage might suffer shipwreck from that time 
forth.f And "it was believed that St. Thomas, assuming the 
mastershiD of the storms had granted his request." 

St. Alban. 

In A. D. 1256 the King of England went to St. Albans, at 
which place, " according to his usual custom, he prayed to God 
and to St. Alban.^^X The monkish writer places God and the saint 
on the same footing:. 

The lAtany of the Saints. 

Omitting the portion about the Deity and the Virgin we begin 
with: § 

« St. Michael, 1 r> ^ 

r. ^ , . , r Fray lor us. 

St. Gabriel, J ^ 



* Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 1147. f ^^-^ A. d. 1179. 

X Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1256. § Mission Book, p. 194-5. N. Y., 1866. 



308 



PRAYEES TO SAINTS. 



St. Raphael, 

All ye holy Angels and Archangels, , 

All ye holy Orders of blessed spirits, 

St. John the Baptist, 

St. Joseph, 

All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets^ 

St. Peter, 

St. Paul, 

St. Andrew, 

St. John, 

St. Thomas, 

St. James, 

St. Philip, 

St. Bartholomew, 

St. Matthew, 

St. Simon, 

St. Thaddeus, 

St. Matthias, 

St. Barnaby, 

St. Luke, 

St. Mark, 

All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists, 

All ye holy Disciples of our Lord, 

All ye holy Innocents, 

St. Stephen, 

St. Lawrence, 

St. Vincent, 

SS. Fabian and Sebastian, 

SS. John and Paul, 

SS. Cosmas and Damian, 

SS. Gervasius and Protasius, 

All ye holy Martyrs, 

St. Sylvester, 

St. Gregory, 

St. Ambrose, 

St. Augustine, 

St. Jerome, 

St. Martin, 






PRAYERS TO SAINTS. 309 



St. Nicholas, > 




All ye holy Bishops and Confessors. 




All ye holy Doctors, 




St. Benedict, 




St. Anthony, 




St. Bernard, 




St. Dominic (Founder of the Inquisition), 




St. Francis, 


^ 

1 


All ye holy Priests and Levites, 


All ye holy Monks and Hermits, 


-^ 


St. Mary Magdalen, 


P 


St. Lucy, 




St. Agnes, 




St. Cecily, 




St. Agatha, 




St. Catharine, 




St. Anastasia, * 




All ye holy Virgins and Widows, 




All ye Men and Women Saints of God, make intercession 


for us." 





All these are invited to be pleaders or mediators with God while 
he says : * " There is one mediator of God and men, the man 
Christ Jesus '^ (Vulgate). 

Trent 

Gives its lofty sanctions to the bestowment of Christ's honor and 
office upon others. One of its decrees says : f " The holy synod 
enjoins on all bishops, and others sustaining the office and charge 
of teaching, that according to the usage of the Catholic and apos- 
tolic Church, received from the primitive times of the Christian 
religion, and according to the consent of the holy fathers, and to 



* Unus Mediator Dei et hominum, homo Christus Jesus. — 1 Tim. ii. 5, 
Vulg.^ edita et recogniia jussu Six. V. et Clem. VIII. London, 1846. 

f Mandat sancta synodus omnibus episcopis et ceteris docendi munus cu- 
ramque sustinentibus, ut juxta catholicce et apostolicse ecclesioe usum a pri- 
mgevis Cliristiange relii;ionis temporibus receptum, sanctorum que Patrum 
cousensionem, et sacrorum conciliorum decreta, in primis de sanctorum in- 



310 THE COUNCIL OF TEENT OX PRAYERS TO SAINTS. 

the decree© of sacred councils, they in the first place diligently in- 
struct the faithful in regard to the invocation and intercession of 
saints, the honor of relics, the proper use of images, teaching them 
that the saints reigning with Christ offer prayers to God <for men, 
that it is good and useful suppliantly to involve them, and to resort 
to their prayers, aid, and help for obtaining benefits from God 
through this son Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is our Redeemer 
and Saviour, but that they think impiously who deny that the 
saints who enjoy eternal happiness in heaven are to be invoked, or 
who assert either that they do not pray for men ; or that the invo- 
cation of them to pray for each of us even in particular, is idolatry, 
or that it is repugnant to the word of God.'^ 

And yet the whole system is hateful to God himself and con- 
trary to the teachings of his blessed word. When the angel 
showed John the new Jerusalem, and the river and tree of life, 
John says, according to the Yulgate : * "1 fell down that I might 
worship before the feet of the angel who showed these things to 
me; and he said to me: See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow-ser- 
vant, and of thy brothers the prophets, and of them who keep the 
words of the prophecy of this book : ivorship God.'^ John might 
have said that he was only going to worship God at the feet of this 
wonderful angel, whose glories and love he displayed to him ; but 
the angel forbids all worship to himself, and by implication to 
any one who was only a fellow-servant of John, and orders John 
to worship God. John the apostle was a great favorite with Jesus ; 

tercessione, invocatione, reliquiarum honore, legitimo imaginum usu, fideles 
diligenter instruant, docentes eos, sanctos una cum Christo regnantes ora- 
tioues suas pro liominibus Deo offerre, bonum atque utile esse suppliciter eos 
invocare, et ob beneficia impetranda a Deo per Filium ejus Jesum Christum, 
Dominum nostrum, qui solus noster redemptor et salvator est, ad eorum ora- 
tiones, opem auxiliumque confugere ; illos vero, qui negant, sanctos seterna 
felicitate in ccelo fruentes invocandos esse, aut qui asserunt, vel illos pro 
hominibus non orare, vel eorum, ut pro nobis etiam singulis orent, invoca- 
tionem esse idolatriam, vel pugnare cum verbo Dei. — Ganones et Decreta Cone. 
Trid., sess. xxv. pp. 173-4. Lipsise, 1863. 

* Cecidi ut adorarem ante pedes angeli, qui mihi liaec ostendebat ; et dixit 
mihi : Vide ne feceris ; conservus enim tuus sum etfratrura tuorum propheta- 
rum, et eorum, qui servant verba prophetise libri hujus : DEUM ADORA.— 
Rev. xxii. 8, 9, Vulg., editaet recognita jussu Six. V. et Clem. VIII. London, 
1846. 



THE APOSTLE JOHN ON PRAYERS TO SAINTS. 



311 



he leaned upon his bosom ; among the apostles he was known as, 
" That disciple in whom Jesus delighted/' * In compliance with 
the Saviour's request he became the adopted son of his mother ; 
and after Christ's crucifixion he took her to his own home. In the 
book of Kevelation he describes more extensive visions of the fu- 
ture than those with which any of his apostolic brethren or pro- 
phetic predecessors had been favored. The angel calls himself his 
" fellow-servant " and forbids all worship to persons like John and 
himself, to prophets, apostles, angels, great favorites, to the most 
glorious and godly in the throngs of angels or in the armies of 
Saints. Throughout every page of revelation, and every region 
of justice and common sense, the words of John's angel ring 
forth, saying about all creature adoration ; SEE THOU DO IT 
NOT : WORSHIP GOD. 



* Ilium discipulum, quern diligebat Jesus. — John xxi. 20, Vulg. 



' THE WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 

The most popular form of idolatry that ever captivated the 
human heart is the worship of Mary, To the unwedded priest of 
contemplative mind, Mary has every beauty, every charm, every 
divine grace. Pure enough to be the chosen mother of that human 
body in which Deity dwelt, un approached in her unparalleled 
honors, chaste as the unspotted snow ; she is the queen of his 
imagination, the ravishing idol of his heart. And as the mistress 
of his affections, he sings her praises, proclaims her glories, and 
gives her glowing homage. Those who fail to worship Mary, 
in his sight, are destitute of moral taste and perception ; they are 
blind to beauty ; they are governed by heartless ingratitude ; they 
have no ear for the sweetest voice that ever fell on the ears of 
angels, or sent its thrilling melodies through the wounds of a 
bleeding heart. 

To the masses of the Catholic world, Jehova?i does not appear 
as a pitying Father, governed by a compassion too vast for finite 
conception, a love which led him to give up his only Son to the 
nails, the crucifix, the spear, the burning wrath of indignant jus- 
tice, the ghastly arms of the universal destroyer, and to the loath- 
some grave, that "he might redeem us from the curse of the law, 
being made a curse for us.'^ He is the awful God who breathes 
thunders ; whose eyes flash forth lightnings ; whose feet, as they 
touch our world, start the jarring earthquakes; whose voice is like 
the roarings of many cataracts ; who is holy, terribly just, spar- 
ing neither age nor sex, and never appalled by the numbers who 
fall before his avenging righteousness. Jesus is not the God-man. 
He is simply Jehovah, without anything to make him our brother^ 
to proclaim his intense and eternal human sympathies. The only 
conception the Catholic masses have of Christ's humanity is a 
312 



THE WORSHIP OF MARY. 313 

little child sitting in helpless and unconscious innocence on the 
knees of a loving mother ; to them Jesus is the infinite God, mov- 
ing through the universe as its master, to inflict punishment ; and 
to be coaxed into acts of mercy by a mother whom he loves. 

They view Mary as the personification of maidenly modesty, 
of motherly love, of all beauty, goodness, and gentleness. There 
is not a pure and loving quality known to the human imagination 
which is not attributed to Mary. She has pity in ocean fulln&ss ; 
she is ever ready to intercede for her penitent petitioners ; she has 
unlimited sway over the heart of her Son. She is the queen of 
love, of goodness, and of heaven. She is the most venerated 
divinity in the Catholic Church. Little wonder that Mohammed 
should say ; * " Believe, therefore, in God and his apostles, and 
say not there are three Gods, forbear this ; it will be better for 
you." His commentator tells us the three Gods of whom he spoke 
were the Father, the Son, and the Virgin Mary. 

The Worship of Mary began in Arabia.'\ 

About the end of the fourth century certain women in Arabia, 
once in twelve months, dressed a car or square throne ; spread a 
linen cloth over it ; and on a clear day placed a loaf of bread or 
cakes called collyrides upon it, which they offered to the Virgin 
Mary. It would seem that this was a transfer of the services of 
the Lord's Supper to Mary from her Son. These first worshippers 
of Mary were called Collyridianians. This service, though offen- 
sive to the churches at first, under another and milder form spread 
rapidly over the East and West.J 

The Virgin gives Pope Leo a new Hand. 

When Iveo was a young man, he was on one occasion doing 
penance for sinful acts ; and while he was praying before the altar 
of the Virgin she appeared to him, saying : " O Leo, correct 
your excesses, and I will promote you to the highest rank." He 
took her advice, and some time after was elected pope. When 
celebrating, hi^ first mass after becoming pontiff, a woman brought 
him an offering, and when she gave it to him, " she sweetly pressed 

* KoraD, p. 80. Philada., 1868. f Mosheim, iv. cen. chap. v. sec. xxv. 
:j: Neander, ii. 339. 



314 THE WORSHIP OF MARY. 

the hand of Leo, and kissed it/' The lady's charms and love 
made the pope remember that he was not yet an angel, that he was 
still a man.* Not long after he cut off that hand. From that time 
he declined to officiate in public, and concealed his injured arm. At 
last, greatly distressed, he called on the Virgin in earnest prayer 
to give him another hand, that his re]3roach might be taken away ; 
and she granted his request, so that no trace of the mutilation 
could be discovered. ^' From that time,'' says Matthew of West- 
minster, "those who brought offerings were ordered to kiss the 
pope's foot, and not his hand." 

God and His Mother. 

King Athelstan '^ determining to seek all the relics of the dif- 
ferent saints throughout his kingdom for the sake of praying be- 
fore them," came to Glastonbury. f Elfleda, a niece of the king, 
who was leading the life of a nun, was greatly exercised about the 
entertainment of Athelstan, as there was no mead in the abbey, 
which the king preferred to all other liquors. She entered the 
Church of the Mother of God, and "she prostrated herself in 
prayer to God and His llother/' and never was any king or com- 
pany served witli such a supply of mead before. 

The Virgin cures a Clerk. 

In A. D. 1134, a clergyman was the victim of a dreadful malady 
which tormented him day and night. He cried constantly to the 
Mother of God for deliverance. One night, when he was grie- 
vously tormented, the Mother of God appeared to him in white 
garments, and stretched out her hand to him. The sick man 
trembled, but he no sooner felt her touch than he was immediately 
healed. J 

The Virgin appears to St., Godric. 

Once when this servant of God was praying before the altar of 
His blessed Mother, he saw two girls of tender age and of the ut- 

* Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 800. 

t Id., at A. D. 931. 

± Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1134. 



THE WORSHIP OF MARY. 315 

most beauty, clothed in garments of snowy whiteness. Godric 
looked from one to the other and ^^ bowed his head in adoration." 
One of these beautiful young girls said : " I am the Mother of 
Christ, and through me thou shalt obtain his grace." Godric 
then threw himself at the feet of the Mother of God, saying : 
^^ I commit myself to thee, my lady, and beseech thee to take me 
under thy protection."* She then placed her hands upon his head, 
and smoothing down his hair, filled the house with a sweet odor. 

The Scapular, 

Is a short mantle worn on the shoulders of Carmelite monks. f 
St. Simon Stock, a general of the Order of Carmelites, who de- 
voutly worshipped Mary, was favored about A. d. 1257 with a 
visit from her, and he was informed by her that '^no person 
should be eternally lost who should expire in this sacred mantle."J 
Benedict XIV. says of this vision : ^' We believe it to be true, 
and think it ought to be so considered by every one." John 
XXII. had an interview with the Mother of God in a vision, in 
which she conferred greater privileges on those who wore her 
Scapular. For, on compliance with certain easy conditions, she 
would pay them a motherly visit in purgatory, and their release 
from its pains might be expected on the next Saturday after death. 
Those who '^ show their tender devotion to the Mother of God " 
shall surely ^^ have her assistance to persevere in the grace of God, 
and her special and powerful protection in the hour of death." 

Prayers addressed to the Virgin. 

" Most holy and immaculate Virgin, my mother Mary, it is to 
thee, the Mother of my God, the Queen of the world, the advo- 
cate, the hope, and the refuge of sinners, that I have recourse to- 
day, I, who am the most miserable of all. I render thee my 
humble homage, O great Queen, and I thank thee for all the 
graces which thou hast bestowed upon me till now, particularly 
for having delivered me from hell, which I have so often deserved. 

* Matt. Paris, at a. r>. 1170. 

f Mosheiin, xiii. cent., part ii. chap. ii. sec. 29. 

X Mission T.ook, pp. lSS-90. K Y., 1866. 



316 PRAYEES TO MAEY. 

I love thee, O most amiable Sovereign, and for the love I bear 
thee, I promise to serve thee always, and to do all in my power to 
make others love thee also. I place in thee after God all my 
hopes. I confide my salvation to thy care. Accept me for thy 
servant, and receive me under thy mantle, O Mother of Mercy ; 
and since thou art so powerful with God, deliver me from all 
temptations, or rather obtain for me the strength to triumph 
over them till death. Obtain for me, I beseech thee, a perfect 
love for Jesus Christ. To thee I look for grace to make a good 
death. O my Mother, by thy love which thou bearest to God, I 
beseech thee to help me at all times, and particularly at the de- 
cisive moment of death. Do not leave me till thou seest me safe 
in heaven, occupied in blessing thee and singing thy mercies 
throughout eternity. ^^ "^ 

St. Ephraim^s Prayer to the Virgin. 

•^ O Queen of the universe, and most bountiful Sovereign ! 
Thou art the great advocate of sinners, the sure port of those who 
have suffered shipwreck, the resource of the world, the ransom of 
captives, the solace of the weak, the comfort of the afflicted, the 
refuge and salvation of every creature. O full of grace ! enlighten 
my understanding, and loosen my tongue that I may recount thy 
praises, and sing to thee that angelical salutation which thou dost 
so justly merit. Hail ! thou who art the peace, the joy, the conso- 
lation of the whole world ! Hail ! Paradise of delight, the sure 
asylum of all who are in danger, the source of grace, the media- 
trix between God and man.'' f 

St. Bernard's Prayer to the Virgin. 

" Most sweet and amiable Mary, no one can pronounce thy 
name without feeling the greatest desire to love thee ; and those 
who do love thee cannot call thee to mind without being animated 
to love thee more. Pray for us to thy divine Son that he may 
vouchsafe to strengthen our weakness : no one is better entitled to 
speak in our favor to thy God and ours than thyself, who art the 
nearest to him. Intercede, then, for us, O blessed Mother, be- 

* Mission Book, p. 161. K Y., 1866. f Id., p. 160. 



PRAYERS TO MARY. 317 

cause thy Son hears thee, and thou canst obtain whatever thou 
wilt ask. O Mary, obtain for me the grace to have constant 
recourse to thee ! " * 

Another Prayer of St. Bernard to Mary. 

" Remember, Mary, that it was never heard of, that a sinner 
had fled to thy protection, and been abandoned by thee. O 
Mother of God, thou pray est for all ; pray then for me, who am 
the greatest of sinners, and therefore have the greatest need of thy 
intercession.'^ 

Another Prayer of St. Bernard to the Virgin. 

" Remember, O most merciful Virgin Mary, that it is unheard 
of, that any one flying to thee for protection, imploring thy help, 
or seeking thy intercession, was ever forsaken. Animated by this 
unerring confidence I hasten to thee, O Virgin of Virgins : I fly to 
thee, O sweet Mother; a wretched sinner, I prostrate myself, 
groaning at thy feet; despise not my prayer, O Mother of the 
divine Word, but graciously hear and grant the same. Amen.'' J 

Prayer of Devout Blosius to Mary. 

" O my Sovereign, protect me in my combats, fortify me in my 
weakness. O most holy Mary, in this great contest which I sus- 
tain against hell, aid me always : but if ever thou seest me w^aver- 
ing and ready to yield, O my Sovereign, stretch out thy hand to 
me without delay, and sustain me still more powerfully. O God, 
what temptations still remain to be surmounted until death ! Ah ! 
Mary, my refuge, my strength and my hope, never permit that I 
should lose the grace of God, for I am resolved in all my tempta- 
tions to have always immediate recourse to thee." § 

Prayer of St. John Damascen to Mary. 

" Hail Mary ! thou hope of Christians. Hear the petition of 
a sinner who wishes to love thee with the greatest tenderness, and 
to honor . thee as thou deservest, and who reposes in thee, next 
after God, his hope of salvation. Indebted as I am to thee for 

«MissionBook, p. 163. N.Y,1866. fid., p. 168. :}: Id., p. 188. § Id., p. 168. 



318 PRAYEES TO MARY. 

the preservation of my life, I entreat thee to restore me to 
the grace of thy divine Son. Thou art the surest pledge of my 
salvation : deliver me, then, by thy prayers from the heavy load 
of my sins. Disperse the darkness of my understanding ; banish 
every inordinate affection from my heart ; repress the temptations 
of my spiritual enemies, and so order my life, that, under thy pro- 
tection, I may arrive at eternal repose in heaven.^^ * 

Prayer of St. German to Mary, 

" Most holy Virgin ! who art the greatest consolation that 
I receive from God ; thou who art the heavenly dew which 
assuages all my pains ; thou who art the light of my soul 
when it is enveloped in darkness ; thou who art my guide in 
unknown paths, the support of my weakness, my treasure in 
poverty, my remedy in sickness, my comfort in trouble, my refuge 
in misery, and the hope of my salvation; hear my supplications, 
have pity on me as becomes the Mother of so good a God, and 
obtain for me the favorable reception of all my petitions at the 
throne of mercy.'^ f 

The Prayer of St. Anselm to 3Iary. 

^' Help us, O Queen of Mercy, without regarding the multitude 
of our sins. Remember that our Creator took of thee a human 
body, not to condemn but to save sinners. Hadst thou been chosen 
to be the Mother of God for thy own benefit alone, thou mightst 
then be said to have no particular interest in our salvation ; but 
God clothed himself in thy flesh for the sake of all mankind. Help 
us therefore, and protect us. Thou knowest the need which we 
have of thy assistance, and we earnestly recommend ourselves to 
thy prayers. Pray that we may not be eternally lost, but with 
thee may love and serve Jesus Christ forever.'^ J 

Prayer of St. Ildefonsus to Mary. 

'■'■ O my Sovereign, and Mother of my God, thou art blessed 
amongst all women, pure amongst all virgins, and queen of all the 
heavenly host : all nations call thee blessed. Vouchsafe that I 
may publish as much as possible thy greatness, that I may love 

* Mission Book, p. 167. N. Y., 1866. f Id., p. 164. % Id., p. 165. 



PRAYEKS TO MARY. 319 

thee to the utmost of my power, and that I may serve thee with 
all the capacity of my soul." * 

Litany of the Blessed ^^rg^n, 

This Litany was composed in Loretto, and sung in the proces- 
sions in that city ; and on that account it is often called, " The 
Litany of Loretto." Sixtus V., June 11th, 1587, granted to all 
Christians an indulgence of two hundred days for each time this 
Litany was piously repeated. This indulgence was confirmed by 
Benedict XIIL, January 20th,' 1728.t 

The portion of it about Mary is blasphemous in the highest 
degree ; it is the most idolatrous prayer ever presented to a dead 
woman. 

^^ Holy Mary,J pray for us. 

Holy Mother of God, pray for us. 

Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us. 

Mother of Christ, pray for us. 

INIother of Divine Grace, pray for us. 

Mother most pure, pray for us. 

Mother most chaste, pray for us 

Mother inviolate, pray for us. 

Mother undefiled, pray for us. 

Mother most amiable, pray for us. 

Mother most admirable, pray for us. 

Mother of our Creator, pray for us. 

Mother of our Redeemer, pray for us. 

Virgin most prudent, pray for us. 

Virgin most venerable, pray for us. 

Virgin most renowned, pray for us. 

Virgin most powerful, pray for us. 

Virgin most merciful, pray for us. 

Virgin most faithful, pray for us. 

Mirror of Justice, pray for us. 

Seat of Wisdom, pray for us. 

Cause of our Joy, pray for us. 

Spiritual Vessel, pray for us. 

* Mission Book, p. 169. K Y., 1866. 

t " The Garden of the Soul," p. 296. London. % ^m P- 297-8. 



'20 PKAYERS TO MARY. 



Vessel of Honor, pray for us. \. 

Vessel of singular Devotion, pray for us. i 

Mystical Kose, pray for us. 

Tower of David, pray for us. 

Tower of Ivory, pray for us. 

House of Gold, pray for us. 

Ark of the Covenant, pray for us. , ;j 

Gate of Heaven, pray for us. | 

Morning Star, pray for us. ^ | 

Health of the Weak, pray for us. . | 

Refuge of Sinners, pray for us. i 

Comforter of the Afflicted, pray for us. 

Help of Christians, pray for us. 

Queen of Angels, pray for us. 

Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us. 

Queen of Prophets, pray for us. | I 

Queen of Apostles, pray for us. 

Queen of Martyrs, pray for us. 

Queen of Confessors, pray for us. 

Queen of Virgins, pray for us. 

Queen of All Saints, pray for us.'' 

Language is exhausted in applying titles to Mary, pilfered from 
her divine Son. Not in any tongue used by mortals has such a 
list of impious compliments been given to a Avoman living or dead. 
Nor has any religion or superstition ever showered such praises 
upon a female divinity. Every sentence is but the prayer : 

" Come, then, our advocate, 

O turn on us those pitying eyes of thine ;. 
And our long exile past. 
Show us at last 

Jesus, of thy pure womb the fruit divine ; 
O Virgin Mary, mother blest ! 
O sweetest, gentlest, holiest ! '' 

Mary and Eve, the Authors of Sin and Salvation. 

The Rev. M. Hobart Seymour, an Episcopal clergyman, spent 
Bome time in Rome at the period when Puseyism threatened to 



THE VIRGIN MORE MERCIFUL THAN JESUS. 



321 



carry the Church of England into the arms of the ^^ Scarlet Lady ;" 
and as it was assumed in Rome that he was there to join the 
Church of the Dark Ages, provided some difficulties were 
explained, certain Professors of the CoUegio Romano, of the order 
of Jesuits, visited him repeatedly to remove his objections. One of 
these Jesuits declared to him, * ^' That as it was a woman brought 
in sin, so a woman was to bring in holiness ; that as a woman 
brought in death, so a Avoman was to bring in life ; that as Eve 
brought in dissolution, so Mary was to bring in salvation ; that as 
we regard Eve as the first sinner, so we are to regard Mary as the 
first Saviour ; the one as the author of sin, the other as the 
author of its remedy." 

The Virgin More Merciful than her Son. 

One of these professors declared that the " feeling was uni- 
versal among Romanists that the Virgin Mary was more m^ciful, 
more gentle, and more ready to hear than Christ.'^ f C)n another 
page the same doctrine is taught by one of these Jesuits : " It is 
the opinion of many of the fathers that God hears our prayers 
more quickly when they are offered through the blessed Virgin 
than when offered through any one else." And again : " Many 
of the fathers were of the opinion that even Christ himself 
was not so willing to hear our prayers, and did not hear them 
so quickly, when offered simply to himself, as when they w^ere 
offered through the blessed Virgin." And again, the professor 
says : " The Romanists feel that Mary is altogether of their own 
nature, and that this insures a more perfect sympathy, so as to 
make Mary more accessible than Christ ; and this feeling leads 
them to pray with more frequency, as well as with more confidence 
to Mary than to Christ." 

The Two Ladders to Heaven. 

St. Bernard had a vision once, in which he beheld two ladders 
extending from earth to heaven. J At the top of one ladder the 
Saviour appeared ; and Mary at the top of the other ; those try- 



* "Mornings among the Jesuits," p. 44 N. Y., 1849. 
t Id., pp. 48, 49, 102, 106. 1: Id , p. 56. 



21 



322 A CURIOUS TRINITY. 

ing to enter heaven by Christ's ladder were constantly tumbling 
down, and meeting with perpetual failures ; those who attempted 
to reach the skies by Mary's always succeeded, for she put forth 
her hands to assist them. Seymour says : * ^^ I saw this as an 
altar-piece (a picture of it) in a church at Milan — none succeeding 
by the Saviour's ladder, none failing by the Virgin's." 

The Triangular Trinity. 

In the Baptistery of Parma there is a representation of the 
Trinity. At the top of a triangle is the Father ; at the two 
angles of the base are the Son and Mary ; the two arms of the 
Father resting on the heads of the Son and Mary, form the legs 
of the triangle ; while the arms of the Son, extended to the head 
of Mary, form the base. The Sacristan called it the Trinity of 
the Father, Son and Virgin, f 

Four Persons in the Godhead. 

Seymour quotes from Meyrick's " Working of the Church in 
Spain," the form of doxology admired in that country : % 

" Glory be to the Father, 
Glory be to the Son, 
Glory be to the Holy Ghost, 
Glory be to the most Holy Virgin, 
Throughout all ages, forever and ever. Amen." 

The Chief Source of St. Mary^s Merits. 

To have had such a Son as Jesus is the common basis of Mary's 
claim to the peculiar respect of our race ; but the Jesuits of the 
Collegio Romano have discovered another foundation for these 
merits. "Assuredly," says one of them, "there was merit in the 
sufferings undergone by the blessed Virgin in giving birth to the child 
Jesus. There was no necessity whatever; no reason whatever why 
she should have subjected herself to them; and therefore her having 

* "Mornings among the Jesuits," p. 56. K Y., 1849. 

•I- Seymour's " Evenings with the Eomanists," p. 358. N. Y., 1856. 

t Id , p 256. 



THE GOSPEL OF MARY IN ITALY. 323 

actually undergone such sufferings, was meritorious. * Slie had 
some claim upon God for it." Here the doctrine is that maternity 
inflicted on Mary without her consent gave merit to her enforced 
sufferings. If so, then every case of compelled maternity has 
overflowing merit to blot out the sins of others, even when the 
mother is a heathen. 

The Religion of Italy , the Gospel of Mary, not the Dispensation 

of Jesus. 

The intelligent observer already quoted confirms the universal 
testimony of travellers who have visited Italy about the extent of 
Mary worship. He says rf " The whole devotional system of the 
Church of Rome, the prayers unceasingly offered to the Virgin, the 
innumerable pictures of the Virgin, the countless images of the 
Virgin, the many churches dedicated to the Virgin, the universal 
devotion rendered to the Virgin, the manner in which all the 
services and prayers of the church and people are impregnated with 
thoughts of the Virgin, the extent to which, in conversation, all 
classes went, in speaking of the Virgin, all had impressed me with 
the feeling that the religion of Italy ought to be called : The reli- 
gion of the Virgin Mary, and not the religion of Jesus ChristJ^ 

" If I enter the church of the Augustines, I see there an image 
of the Virgin Mary as large as life. Some are decking her with 
jewels as votive offerings ; some are suspending pictures around 
as memorials of thankfulness ; some are placing money in a box 
at her feet ; some are devoutly hissing her feet and touching them 
loith their foreheads ; some are prostrate in profound devotion before 
her ; some are repeating the rosary before her ; all are turning 
their backs upon the consecrated host ; upon that which the priest 
is elevating upon the high altar, and which he and they devoutly 
believe to be Jesus Christ Himself bodily and visibly among them ; 
turning their backs upon Christ and their faces upon Mary, prac- 
tically forsaking Christ for Mary, with a prostration the most 
profound before her image — a prostration that was never surpassed 
in the days of heathen Rome, and can never be justified in 
Christian Rome.^t 

* "Mornings among the Jesuits," p. 192. N. Y., 1849. f Id., p. 107. 
t Id , p. 55 6. 



324 THE COUNCIL OF TRENT AND MARY. 

And one of these Jesuits told Mr. and Mrs. Seymour,* " That 
the devotion to the Virgin was very popular ; that latterly it had 
become increasingly so, and that he knew many facts that 
proved it a growing devotion among all classes. He mentioned 
the frequency with which he hears the poor and simple people 
praying to the Virgin, singing hymns to her pictures, at the corners 
of the streets early in the morning, appealing to her for protection 
in times of danger ; and he narrated an instance of a little child 
appealing to the Virgin whose piety so touched his heart that a 
tear glistened in his eye as he told the incident." 

This Devotion rests upon the highest Authority. 

The Council of Trent gave birth to modern Romanism ; it' 
decisions have greater weight in the Papal Church than passages 
of Scripture. The fathers of Trent had two classes of decrees to 
which they gave their sanction, the first originated with themselves, 
the second was made up of bulls, and commandments of other and 
commonly inferior synods. The Council of Trent in its fifth 
session, in its article on "Original Sin," adoj)ted the following 
from a decree of Sixtus IV. : t ^' A¥hen we investigate with the 
scrutiny of devout consideration the exaked insignia of the merits 
with which the Queen of the heavens, the glorious Virgin mother 
of God, advanced to the celestial dwellings, shining amidst the 
constellations as the morning star, and revolve beneath the secrets 
of our breast, that she herself as the path of mercy, the mother of 
grace, and the friend of piety, the consoler of the human race, the 
sedulous and vigilant advocate of the salvation of the faithful, 
who are oppressed by the load of their offences, intercedes with the 
King whom she has brought forth . . . .that thereby they may 

* Seymour's "Mornings among the Jesuits," p. 55-6. N. Y., 1849. 

t Quum praeexcelsa meritorum insignia, quibus regina coelorura, Virgo Dei 
genetrix gloriosa, sedibus praelata setbereis, sideribus quasi Stella matutina 
perrutilans, devotse considerationis indagine perscrutamur, et infra pectoris 
arcana revolvimus, quod ipsa, utpote via misericordm^ mater graticB, et pieta- 
tis arnica, Jiumani generis consolatrix, pro salute fidelium, qui delictorum 
onere gravantur, sedula oratrix et pervigil adregem quemgenuit, intercedit . . , 
tit exindefiant ejusdem Virginis mentis et intercessione divince gratice apiiores. 
— Canone!^ et Decreta Gone. Trid.^ p. 260. Lipsise, 1863. 



GEEGORY XVI. AND MARY. 



325 



become more jit for divine grace by the merits and intercession of 
the same VirginJ^ Here Mary is the path of mercy, the mother 
of grace, the consoler of the human race, with merits and intercjes- 
sion to qualify men for divine grace; and that, by the decree of 
the authoritative Council of Trent. 

The Catechism of the Council of Trent, 

Speaks with equal significance : * '^ Therefore, we, exiled sons of 
Eve, who inhabit this vale of tears, ought assiduously to invoke 
the Mother of Iferci/, and the advocate of the faithful people, that 
she might pray for us sinners, and that from her, in prayer, we 
might implore aid and assistance ; for no one, unless impiously and 
wickedly, can doubt but that she has the most surpassing merits 
with God, and the highest desire to assist the human race.'^ 



Gregorij XFZ, in 1832, 
Says, in his Encyclical Letter, published August 15th of that 
year : f '^ But that all things may have a prosperous and happy 
issue, let us raise our eyes and hands to the most holy Virgin 
Mary, who only destroys all heresies, who is our greatest hope ; yea, 
the entire ground of our hopeJ' 

Such is the position occupied by that modest, unassuming 
woman, who gave birth to Jesus, in the Church of Rome. She is 
adored with a worship of the loftiest order ; she is venerated by 
many millions who neglect her Son and his Father. She is at this 
moment the great divinity of the papal world. Nor is there a 
doubt but that she vrould denounce this impious idolatry if she 
were on earth, and drive her images and worshippers from every 
Christian temple. 

* Ergo nos exulesfilii Evae, qui banc lacrymarumvallem incolimus, assidiie 
misericordias matrem ac fidelis populi advocatam invocare debeinus, ut oret 
pro nobis peccatoribus : ab eaque bac prece opem et auxilium implorare, 
ciijus et prgestantissima merita apud Deum esse, et summam voliintatem 
juvandi bumaniiiTi genus, nemo, nisi impie etnefarie, dubitare potest. — (7«<e- 
chumus Gone. Trid., pars iv. cap. vi. quest. 8, p. 405. Lipsiae, 1865. 

f Sed ut omnia bsec prospere et feliciter eveniant, levemus oculosque manus 
ad sanctissimam Virginem Mariam, qure sola universas basreses interemit, 
no straqiie maxima fiducia, inio tola ratio est fipei noatrx.—ElUotV s Delinea- 
tions of Romanism p. 754. London, 1851. 



326 THE saviour's opiniox of his mother. 



I 



Not one Prayer was ever addressed to Mary luhen living, nor was 

any Worship ever offered her. A 

While her Son lived on earth, she Avas respected by his followers, 
simply as the mother of the Baptist, or any other godly woman was 
esteemed. After his death, there is nothing in the sacred records 
about her; nor is there one single instance, in the New Testament, 
of reverence, veneration, dulia, hyperdidia, or lairia given to Mary. 
Romish prayer-books are full of petitions to the Virgin ; the 
Scriptures are absolutely silent about any supnlications to and 
worship of the Saviour's mother. 

The Lord rebukes his Mother for interfering with his Business. 

At the marriage of Cana, when the wine failed, Mary, concerned 
for the honor of the family, told Jesus, and undoubtedly hinted to 
him the propriety of performing a miracle. According to the 
Vulgate, the only Bible recognized by the Council of Trent, the 
Saviour answered : * '' What is it to me and thee, woman ? my 
hour is not yet come.'^ The use of the word " woman '' by the 
Saviour, does not lead one to think that he regarded her as '^ queen 
of heaven." His answer to her is a refusal, coupled with an inti- 
mation that she was ignorant of the time when he should assume 
his divine authority before men. 

The Saviour decides that every one who does his Father^ s Will is the 
equal of his 3Iother. 

On one occasion, it was announced to Jesus, that his mother and 
brethren were without, and wished to speak to him : the Saviour's 
reply, according to the Vulgate, was : f " Who is my mother, and 
who are my brothers ? and, extending his hand to his disciples, he 
said : Behold my mother and my brothers ; for whosoever shall do 

* Quid mihi et tibi est, mulier ? "N"ondum venit hora raea. — John ii, 4, 
Vulg.. edita et recognita jussu Sixt. V. et Clem. VIII. London, 1846. 

\ Quae est mater mea, et qui sunt fratres mei ? et extendens manum in dis- 
cipulos suos, dixit : Ecce mater mea, et fratres mei. Quicunque enim fecerit 
voluntatem Patris mei, qui in coelis est, ipse meus frater, et soror, et mater 
est — !Matt. xii. 48, 49, 50, Vulg., edita et recognita jussu Sixt. V. et Clem. 
VIII. London, 1846. 



THE saviour's OPINION OF IIIS MOTPIER. 327 

the will of my Father, who is in the heavens, he is my brother and 
sister and mother/' He refuses to go and speak with the " refuge of 
sinners, the comfortress of the afflicted,^' and he makes the declina- 
ture publicly, as if to show that even his mother must not interfere 
with him in discharging the duties he owes his Father. And he 
immediately rebukes the idea that his mother was any more to him, 
as the Great Teacher, than any other disciple ; whosoever does his 
Father's will is dear to him, and powerful with him, as "brother, 
sister and mother." 

The Saviour declares that there is a greater Distinction on earth 
than that of being his Mother. 

On one occasion, while he was speaking, a delighted woman, 
most probably a mother, exclaimed, according to the Vulgate:"^ 
" Blessed is the womb which bare thee, and the breasts which thou 
hast sucked ; and he said : Nay, rather, they are blessed who hear 
the word of God, and keep it." This woman properly pronounced 
Mary blessed for giving birth to the Redeemer. But the Saviour, 
while admitting that Mary had a blessing in being his mother, de- 
clares that the hearing and keeping of the word of God was a 
greater honor — a happier distinction. And if the inferior honor 
justifies the worship of Mary, on the same principle higher worship 
should be given to all who hear God's word and keep it. But we 
very much fear that if this rule was observed, most of the present 
Catholic saints would be discarded, and millions of godly persons, 
who loere never inside a Romish Church, would have their images put 
in Catholic shrines, and prayers and devotions presented to them — 
because they heard GOD'S WORD AND KEPT IT, instead of 
observing the traditions of men. 

A woman so deaf that she can hear nothing, has a powerful son, 
persons are ignorant of her deafness, and anxious for the favor of 
the mighty son ; they seek the intercession of his deaf mother. But 
though they plead earnestly, they appeal to her in vain ; she cannot 
hear them. In regard to all earthly prayers and devotions, Mary 
is a deaf woman ; she cannot hear. She hnows nothing of all the 
words addressed to her. 

* Beatus venter, qui te portavit, et nbera, quae suxisti ; at ille dixit : Qui- 
nimo, beati, quiaiuiinnt veibum Dei, et custodiant illud. — Luke xi. 27, 28, 
Vulaaie. T.^nrin^^ ^9,^(\. 



THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES. 

Du Pix declares that : " In the first three centuries^ yea, and in 
the beginning of the fourth, images were very scarce among Chris- 
tians. Towards the end of the fourth century they began, especi- 
ally in the East, to make pictures and images; and they grew very 
common in the fifth ; they represented in them the conflicts of 
martyrs and sacred histories to instruct those who could not read. 
Those of the simpler sort, moved by these representations, could 
not forbear expressing the esteem, respect, and veneration they had 
for those represented therein. Thus was image worship estab- 
lished."* 

" There is no doubt when paganism was the prevailing religion, 
but that it would have been dangerous for Christians to have had 
images, because they might have given occasion of idolatry to those 
just reclaimed from it; and they might have given the pagans 
reason to object to Christians, that they had, and worshipped idols 
as they did ; therefore it was fitting that there should be no images 
in those first ages, especially in churches, and that there should be no 
worship paid them.'^"^ 

This statement is truthful, and for a friend of image worship, 
extremely candid. The practice became general over the East, 
but was unknown in England, France, and Germany, though in 
these Western nations the worship of relics was universal. 

In A. D. 730, Leo the Isaurian issued an imperial edict ordering 
images to be removed out of the churches and sacred places, com- 
manding them to be throAvn into the fire, and inflicting penalties 
upon those who ventured to disobey him. The decree was gener- 
ally executed in the East, though it excited a great amount of in- 
dignation. 

* Du Pin, vol. ii. p. 42. Dublin, 1734. 

328 



IMAGE WORSHIP. 329 

Constantine Copronymus, the son and successor of Leo, assem- 
bled a council of 338 bishops at Constantinople, A. D. 754, to 
complete the work of his father.* They showed the sternest oppo- 
sition to the worship of images of Christ, and of the saints ; they 
denounced it as a taint of heathenism, condemned by the Scrip- 
tures, and by such fathers as Chrysostom and Athanasius; and 
they forbade the use of all images in private houses or churches. 
The effort of Constantine seemed to be successful, that is, it con- 
trolled the public acts of his subjects, but evidently failed to carry 
their consciences along w^ith it. 

The Empress Irene was instrumental in calling a council, 
which permanently settled the controversy in favor of the worship 
of images ; though quietness did not immediately fall upon the 
excited passions of men.f Her synod met first at Constantinople 
A. D. 786, but Avas scattered by military violence ; it assembled 
afterwards A. D. 787, at Mce. It numbered 350 bishops, and 
passed a number of argumentative and idolatrous decrees in favor 
of the worship of images. And as this synod gave shape to all 
subsequent views and conflicts about images, we present a portion 
of one of its celebrated decrees. 

^' We X therefore as is aforesaid, honor and salute, and honorably 
worship the holy and venerable images, that is to say, the image 
of the humanity of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and 
of our immaculate lady, and holy Mother of God, of wdiom he was 
pleased to be made flesh, and to save and turn us away from 
impious love of idols ; and the forms and representations of the 
holy and incorporeal angels, for they also appeared to the righteous 
as men ; in like manner of the divine apostles, worthy of all praise, 

* Perceval, "On the Roman Schism," p. 77. London, 1836. f Id., p. 79. 

t Tauras 6e Ta$ n-aJaj xai aerita^ fixovas, xaOJj^ rtpo?tp>jrat, rtuwufi' xaL 
dffTtaCo/Ua^a, xai ri/x'/]ttxuj^ Ttpooxvvovfxsv' 'tovtsati^ rriv rov fxtyd'hov Oi^ov xai 
ffwr^poj rjjjLiliV I'/jaov 'KpLatov 8vav9pi07tr^aiu>i sixora, xai ■tyj^ axpo-vrov ^forrtotvrj 
rfJLtjv xai riava/yiai Osotoxov, J| 575 avroj r^vboxr^s oa^xmOrivai^ xai aojnai xai 
drtaXXctlac '/^/xaj rta^rj SvocrfjSot-j fiStoT-oitai-iaj' ru>v i'e aytwv xai aautudtoiv 
dyyeXwv* xai avdpcoTiot, yap TOt$ 8ixavois BPS^aviaOtjCiav. Ouotwj Ss xai tUv 
dfnov xai 7tavsvq;>ruiov drto^T'o^wv, ttov Ofryopiov 7tpO(J)7^rioj', xac d9Xoq>6(tu)v uaprv- 
pwy, xai uaiiov dj-SpuJi- tag fiop^dg xai fixoviajxara. — Conc. vii. 322. Labbe and 
Cossart. Paris, 1671-2. 



330 IMAGES. 

and of the inspired prophets, of the victorious martyrs, and of holy 
men/' ..... 

This was the doctrine of Adrian, then pope, and the decisions 
of the council were speedily received in Italy ; but in France, 
Charlemagne opposed them with the greatest vehemence, and had 
a work prepared by the famous Alcuin, and issued in his name, 
denouncing the adoration of images. He did not object to their 
presence in churches, but the worship demanded for them by the 
second synod of Nice was an intolerable iniquity. He sent the 
book to the pope by Angilbert his embassador ; and His holiness 
replied to the work of Alcuin. 

Charlemagne against Images. 

Whatever ridiculous distinction Rome has tried to recognize 
between the worship of images and that of God, a distinction 
which first appears in the decrees of the second Council of Nice, 
Charlemagne only saw in these idolatrous edicts ; " adoration, 
worship.'^ His book says of the prelates of the second Council 
of Nice : '^ The bishops of this synod order images to be adored ; '• 
" Whenever they find images spoken of either in the Scriptures or 
in the writings of the fathers, they conclude from them that they 
ought to be worshipped.'^ * ^' Let us,'' adds he, ^^ adore God alone." 
He declares that " miracles performed by images are no proof that 
they should be adored, for then thorn bushes should be adored, 
because God spake to Moses out of a burning bush ; fringes should 
be adored because Jesus Christ healed the woman who touched 
the fringe of his garment; and shadows too, because St. Peter's 
shadow wrought miracles." The whole controversy between 
Charlemagne and the pope and council was based on the worship 
of images. He honored them so far as to permit them to remain 
in the churches. He would not worship them. The pope and 
second council insisted that they should be adored, and cursed 
all who did not worship them, f And the empire of Charlemagne 
and the Christian world, in process of time, followed Irene, Pope 
Adrian, and the second Synod of Nice. 

* Du Pin, vol. ii. pp. 39, 40, 41. 

tOt /J.7J ovTios c^oj/r? J ardOsiJ-a taz^aav. — Conc. vii. 318. Labbe and Cos- 
sart. Paris, 1671-3. 



IMAGES. 331 

Nothing could be more untruthful or pernicious than the princi- 
ple upon which the bishops of the Deutero-Nicene Council justified 
their idolatry. "He, who worships the figure," said the council, 
"worships the substance of that which is represented by it."* 
According to this theory every heathen in the world could plead 
exemption from the charge of idol-worship under the pretence that 
he adored the great God represented by a statue of Jupiter, or by 
the shining sun. Myriads have worshipped images in Christian 
churches without exercising a thought beyond the figure itself. 
And they have reverenced one image, rather than another repre- 
senting the same adored one, because of some special virtue sup- 
posed to dwell in that particular image. 

Other Catholic Authorities copy the exact Spirit, if not the Letter, 
of the Deutero-Nicene Synod. 

The Council of Trent says : f " Moreover the images of Christ, 
of the Virgin mother of God, and of the other saints are to be 
had and retained particularly in temples, and that due honor and 
veneration are to be awarded them ; not that any divinity or 
virtue is in them on account of which they are to be ivorshipped ; 
or that anything is to be asked of them, or that confidence is to be 
reposed in images as was of old done by the Gentiles, who place 
their hope in idols ; but because the honor which is shown unto 
them is referred to the prototype which they represent." 

Creed of Pope Pius IV. 

"1 most firmly assert, that the images of Christ, of the 
Mother of God, ever virgin, and also of other saints, ought to be 

* 'O Ttposxvviop triv BLXOva, Tipo'jxvvs.i sv av-fyj "toy eyypa^ofxivov trji vjioataoiv. 
— Cone. vii. 556. Labbe and Cossart. Paris, 1671-2. 

f Imagines porro Christi, deiparee Virginis et aliorum sanctorum in templis 
prsesertim liabendas et retinendas, eisque debitum honorem et venerationem 
impertiendam, non quod credatur inesse aliqua in iis divinitas vel virtus, 
propter quam sint colendse, vel quod ab eis sit aliquid petendum, vel quod 
liducia in imaginibus sit Agenda, veluti olim fiebat a gentibus, quae in idolis 
spem suam collacabant ; sed quoniam lionos, qui eis exhibetur refertur ad 
prototypa quse illse representant. — Canones et Deer eta Cone. Trid.^ sess. xxv. 
p. 174. Lipsiae, 1863. 



332 IMAGES. 

had and retained, and that due honor and veneration are to be 
given them." * 

Catechism of the Council of Trent, 

" Moreover it is not only lawful to have images in the Church 
and to pay them honor and worship." f 

Such, then, are the fundamental laws for the government of the 
Papal Church about the worship of images. From the very start, 
it was not mere honor to the pictures or statues of saints ; Char- 
lemagne was willing to render that ; it was veneration, adoration^ 
the burning of incense, wo7'ship. 

To promote the worship of images, wonderful prodigies were 
narrated about them. 

A Statue of Jesus bleeds. 

In A. D. 561, a Jew,J by stealth, carried off a statue of Christ, 
out of a church, and having brought it unobserved to his house, he 
pierced it with a dart ; and, as he was going to burn it in the fire, 
he found himself bathed in blood which flowed from the wounded 
image. Greatly terrified, he changed his mind, and concealed the 
wonderful wood. The Christians sought for it, and found it by 
means of the traces of blood, and recovered it, stained with gore. 
They subsequently stoned the Jew for his impiety. 

An Image of Jesus speaks. 

At a celebrated synod § convened by St. Dunstan, at Winchester, 
in the heat of a violent discussion, the image of the Lord, in the 
church, close to the disputants, spoke distinctly : " Expressing 
such opinions as rendered the secular clergy dumb." 



* Assero firmiter, imagines Christi ac deiparse semper virginis, nee non 
aliorum sanctorum, habendas et retinendas esse, atque eis debitum honorem 
ac venerationem impertiendam. — Ganones et Deer eta Cone. Trid.^ sess. xxv. 
p. 228. Lipsise, 1863. 

f Non solum autem licere in ecclesia imagines habere, et illis honorem et 
cultum adhibere. — Gateelihmus Gone. Trid.., quest 24, p. 307. Lipsise 1865. 

X Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. £61. § Id , at a. d. 975. 



IMAGES. 333 

An Image of the Virgin woi-Jcs Prodigies. 

At Sardenai,* six miles from Damascus, A. D. 1204, there lived 
a venerable nun, who sadly lamented the fact that she had no 
image of the Virgin to show her features when she offered up her 
prayers. A certain monk promised to bring her an image or pic- 
ture of ^lary from Jerusalem. He forgot his promise ; and, as he 
started out of Jerusalem, a voice from heaven said to him : " Where 
is the image thou didst promise to take to the nun ? " He felt re- 
buked, and immediately returned and procured the image. As he 
left the holy city again and came to Gith, a fierce lion, accustomed 
to eat men, came to meet him and licked his feet. Afterwards, 
robbers came forth to assail him, but the voice of an angel rebuked 
them, and. frightened them away. Seeing the power of the image, 
he concluded he would keep it ; and he went to sea to reach his 
home, but a violent storm compelled all on board to cast their 
goo^s into the sea ; and as he was about to throw his baggage into 
the ocean, an angel forbade him, and said : " Lift the image up 
towards the Lord ;'' he obeyed, and immediately there was a calm. 
He took it as quickly as possible to the nun, who erected a suitable 
house for such a wonderful figure, and forthwith it began to drip 
oil, and it never ceased sending it forth from that time. Then the 
image formed breasts of flesh, and below them it was covered with 
flesh. This image performed great numbers of miracles; and, 
among other marvels, it gave sight to the blind Sultan of Da- 
mascus, who prostrated himself in prayer before it. " The image 
then began to be greatly revered by all, and every one admired the 
great and wonderful works of God in it.'^ 

The Bambino, 

The Bambino is an image of the child Jesus carved out of a 
tree that grew on Mount Olivet, and painted by St. Luke while 
the artist was asleep ; it is an ugly-looking babe.f The church 
Ara Coeli contains this celebrated image. Its miracles are famous 
all over Rome, and especially at the birth of children. On these 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1204. 

t " Echoes of Europe," pp. 407, 430. Pliilada., 1860. 



334 AN IMAGE OF JESUS IN ST. SALYADOE. 

occasions, it visits mothers in a carriage, and " gets more fees than 
any physician.'' A traveller, writing in 1860, says : " It is carried 
about in procession by a company of priests, and attended by a 
band of soldiers with music, the people kneeling, and esteeming it 
a great happiness to get a glimpse of it. It looks extremely like 
gross idolatry.^' 

Seymour,* in 1851, says that the Bambino gives an exhibition 
of detestable idol worship. ^^ When the priest elevates the wooden 
doll, the thousands which cover the slope and bottom of the mount, 
fall prostrate, and nothing is heard but the low sounds of prayer 
addressed to the image.'' 

An Old Statue of Jesus. 

In the church of St. Salvador there is an ancient ima^e of Jesus. 
It has a wig on its head, its face looks black and disfigured, its 
features are so indistinct that you are not certain which sex it is 
intended to represent ; it is located in a small chapel behind the 
choir. This image can work great miracles. When any public 
calamity is threatened it is always ready. And as a consequence 
it enjoys the devout worship and the warm love of the whole 
people for many miles around. When rain is needed so badly 
that the harvest is threatened, a day is fixed to take out the cru- 
cifix attended by its friends. The procession is composed of the 
priests, friars and devout people, with visible marks of penance. 
The archbishop, viceroy and magistrates assist in robes of mourn- 
ing. Twelve priests dressed in black, take the crucifix on their 
shoulders ; and wherever the procession moves the crucifix is 
adored as if its wooden Jesus was the very flesh and blood of the 
Son of God. It is naively added, that " The image is never taken 
out but when there is great want of rain, and when there is sure 
appearance of plenteous rain ; so they are never disappointed in 
having a miracle published after such a procession." f 

The Image of Our Lady of Pilar. 

It is said the Apostle James came with seven converts to Sara- 
gossa in Spain ; and as they were sleeping oi:c night on the river 

* Seymour's " Pilgrimage to Rome," p. 288. London, 1851. 

t Gavin's "Master Key to Popery," pp. 205-6. Cineinnati, 1888- 



ti 



THE MIRACULOUS PICTURE OF ST. MARY MAGGIORE. 335 

Ebro, an army of angels awoke them at midnight, and gave them 
an image of the Virgin Queen of Heaven on a pillar, by whose 
aid they should conquer the city for their Saviour. They built a 
chapel for her. This image performs great and continuous prodi- 
gies, and enjoys the rapturous admiration of worshipping hosts. 
It is contrived by having the wall broke backwards that a piece 
of the pillar as big as two crown pieces is shown, which is set 
out in gold round about, and kings and other people kneel 
"down to adore, and kiss that part of the stone. There is always 
so great a crowd of people that many times they cannot kiss the 
pillar ; in that case they touch it with one of their fingers, and 
kiss the part which touched the pillar. 

It is said this chapel was never empty since the Apostle James 
built it. The noble, the sons of toil, the profligate, the devout, 
alike revere the image of our Lady of Pilar. * 

In the church of St. Mary Maggiore, in Rome, there is a cele- 
brated picture of the Virgin Mary, invested with perpetual power 
to work miracles, f This picture was carried in procession through 
the Eternal City to remove the cholera ; and Gregory XVI., the 
immediate predecessor of Pius IX., walked barefooted with the 
idolatrous throng who, forgetting God in their day of calamity, 
appealed to the wonder-working picture of a woman. 

In Catholic countries image-worship is universal, and whatever 
theoretical distinctions are made between latria, hyperdulia and 
dulia, the great body of worshippers know no difference between 
the worship of an image and the worship of God. 

The Catholic Church removes the Second Commandment from 
some of her Books of Devotion. 

This is one of the most extraordinary steps ever taken by any 
Christian community, one of the most audacious usurpations ever 
attempted. The second commandment is : '' Thou shalt not make 
unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in 
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the 
water under the earth ; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, 
nor serve them ; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.^' 

^ Gavin's " Master Key to Popery," p. 208. Cincinnati, 1833. 
f "Mornings among the Jesuits," p. 88. N. Y., 1849. 



336 CATHOLIC CHURCH a:n^d the seco^'d commandment. 

This commandment prohibits the manufacture of idols, kneeling 
to them, and all religious service to them. While the other com- 
mandments are received, this one is expunged from the decalogue, 
and to possess ten commandments, the last one is divided ; and its 
parts form the ninth and tenth, while the third commandment 
becomes the second. This act is almost incredible ; and yet it is 
sustained by the unbending logic of facts. 

The ^' Mission Book ^' is a prayer-book of great popularity in 
the Catholic Church. ^^ It is drawn chiefly from the works of 
St. Alphonsus Liguori.^' * It bears the following testimonial and 
approval from the late Archbishop Hughes : '^ The Mission Book 
has received the commendation of many distinguished prelates in 
Europe, as a work eminently fitted for the instruction of the 

faithful, and the promotion of solid piety. j- John, Archbishop 

of New York, September 8th, 1853.'^ 

" It has had a wide circulation .... particularly in Austria, 
Bohemia, Belgium, Holland, and France. Thousands of Catho- 
lics in this country within a few years past, have found this little 
book next to the Mission itself a most precious and efficacious 
means of grace.'^ * With a view to preparation for confession 
the Mission Book recommends an examination on the ten com- 
mandments, and gives questions under each for the penitent. Here 
are its ten commandments if 

First 

" I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods 
before me," etc. 

The Second Commandment. 
" Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God- in vain." 

The Third Commandment. 
" Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day." 

The Fourth Commandment. 
" Honor thy father and thy mother." 

* Preface to Mission Book. N. Y., 1866. 
f Mission Bool^, pp. 304-14. N. Y., 1866. 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT BLOTTED OUT. 337 

The Fifth Commandment 
" Thou shalt not kill." 

The Sixth Commandment 
" Thou shalt not commit adultery." ^ 

The Seventh Commandment. 
'" Thou shalt not steal." 

The Eighth Commandment 
" Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," 

The Ninth Commandment 
" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife." 

The Tenth Commandment 
" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods." 

After the first commandment is given by the authors of the 
work, they place '^etc." outside the quotation marks, showing 
that etc. is no part of the first commandment. What it is in- 
tended to represent we cannot tell. But no portion of the second 
commandment in any form is in the Mission Book of St. Alphon- 
sus Liguori. The same prayer-book contains " The little Cate- 
chism ; " * and it presents another version of the ten command- 
ments : 

" 1. One God alone, for evermore 

By faith, and hope, and love adore. 

2. Thoii shalt not take his name in vain. 

3. The Lord's day thou shalt not profane. 

4. Honor thy father, and thy mother. 

5. Thou shalt not hurt, nor hate thy brother, 

6. Thou shalt do no adultery. 

7. Thou shalt not steal. 

8. Thou shalt not lie. 

* Mission Book, p. 260. K Y., 1866. 
22 ■ 



66^ THE SECOND COMMANDMENT ABOLISHED. 

9. Thou shalt have no impure desire 
10. Nor to thy neighbor's goods aspire." 

In no Avay does this prayer-book, " so widely circulated," re- 
cognize the second commandment ; while it mutilates and divides 
the tenth to obtain a substitute for the expunged second. 

The " Key of Heaven," "^ another well-known Catholic prayer- 
book, recommended by Archbishop Hughes, makes precisely the 
same changes in the decalogue, and utterly ignores the command- 
ment forbidding the manufacture and worship of graven images. 

One distinguished writer on the papal controversy says : " In 
the ordinary catechisms used in Great Britain by Roman Ca- 
tholics the second commandment is expunged from the decalogue, 
and the tenth is split into two to preserve the number of ten." f 
Another author, who had made a very extensive examination of 
catechisms, says : " Here there are twenty-nine catechisms in use 
in Rome and in Italy, France, Belgium, Austria, Bavaria, Silesia, 
Poland, Ireland, England, Spain, and Portugal, and in twenty- 
seven of them the second commandment is totally omitted; in two 
it is mutilated, and only a portion expressed.'^ J 

Nor is there any difference between the Vulgate version of this 
commandment and our own to justify this extraordinary procedure. 
The Catholic translation into English faithfully renders it : "Thou 
shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any- 
thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of 
those things that are in the waters under the earth ; thou shalt 
not adore them, nor serve them." § 

But where Roman Catholics have no Bible they are ignorant of 
any such divine prohibition of image worship. Belcher quotes a 
missionary at Malta whose teacher, an Italian, observed the ten 
commandments in a tract on his table one morning, and imme- 

* "Key of Heaven," p. 182. N. Y., 1851. 

t "The Papacy," by J. A. Wylie, p. 360. Edinburgh, 1852. 

X "Novelties of Romanism," by Charles H. Collet, p. 96. London : Re- 
ligious Tract Society. 

§ Non facies tibi sculptile, neque omnem similitudinem quae est in coelo 
desuper, et quae in terra deorsum, nee eorum quae sunt in aquis sub terra ; 
non adorabis ea neque coles. — Exodus xx. 4, 5, Vulg., edita et recognita 
jussu Sixt. V. et. Clem. Vlll. London, 1846. 



THE SECOND COMMANDMENT REGARDED AS AN ENEMY. 339 

diately expressed great surprise at the second, and asked if it was 
•d part of the decalogue. Mr. Temple, the missionary, showed 
him this commandment in Martini's translation of the Vulgate. 
As he read it in a work authorized by the pope, he exclaimed; "I 
have lived fifty years ; I have been publicly educated in Italy, but 
till this hour I never knew that such a command was written in 
the pages of the Bible.'' * 

It is in the solemn prohibitions of Sinai, and no earthly autho- 
rity can remove it from the place assigned it by the Almighty 
Jehovah. And while it is unrepealed, the worship of any image 
is an act of forbidden idolatry ; more detestable in one claiming to 
be a Christian than in any devotee of heathenism. 

And of its hatefulness to the God of the Bible, the compilers 
of the " Mission Book " and of other " Manuals of Worship," 
and of various catechisms, are fully aware ; and for this reason 
alone they blot it out of the ten commandments, that it may not 
condemn the degraded adoration rendered to images, which their 
worship so constantly exhibits. 

* " Facts on Popery," by Belcher. Pliilada., 1845. 



PAPAL INFALLIBILITY AND THE COUNCIL OF 1870. 

Of all the vain delusions ever darting through the disordered 
minds of lunatics, or the sober intellects of wise men, nothing 
quite equals the insane doctrine of papal infallibility. Its promul- 
gation in the nineteenth century is a miracle, an event as much 
beyond the laws of mind, of common sense, as the resurrection 
of Lazarus, when four days dead, was an occurrence beyond the 
laws of nature. 

What is the Infallibility of the Pope f 

Archbishop Manning quotes with approval the definition of 
infallibility given by Liguori : 

" When the pope speaks as universal doctor, ex cathedra (from 
the seat), that is, by the supreme authority to teach the Church, 
delivered to Peter, in deciding controversies of faith and morals, 
he is altogether infallihle.^^ * 

Perhaps a more distinct definition of the dogma is given by 
Bishop Cornelio Musso, of Bitonto, in a sermon preached in Rome, 
in which he says : " What the pope utters we must receive as 
though spohen by God himself. In divine things we hold him to 
be God ; in matters of faith I had rather believe one pope than a 
thousand Augustines, Jeromes, or Gregorys.^^ f 

This is precisely w^hat is meant by the infallibility of the pope, 
though it is not commonly so frankly expressed. To err is 
human, is an attribute of all humanity, but in the concerns of 
faith and morals his Holiness does not err, therefore, in these rela- 
tions he is God. 



* " Vatican Council," by Archbishop Manning, p. 69. K T., 1871. 
f Condones in Ep. ad Rom., p. 606, quoted in " The Pope and Council," 
p. 310. Boston, 1870 
340 



il 



WICKED POPES. 341 

The Absurdity of Infallibility in the light of Biography, 

Pope John XII., a youthful pontiff, reigned A. D. 956 ; he 
perjured himself. And when the Emperor sent embassadors to 
inquire into his treachery, the Romans informed them that he car- 
ried on a criminal intimacy with Rainera, a soldier's widow, and 
that he presented her with crosses and chalices belonging to St. 
Peter's, and the government of several cities ; that he protected 
another lady, named Stephanie, who lately died in childbirth ; that 
he lived in the Lateran palace with a sister of Stephanie, one of 
his father's ladies ; that women were afraid to visit the tombs of 
the apostles at Rome ; and that within a few days he had employed 
violence to married women, widows, and virgins."^ This was the 
character of infiillible John, Avho could not err in morals. 

Benedict IX. became pope at eighteen, in A. d. 1033. A faction 
in Rome, unable to bear the daily rapines, murders and abomina- 
tions of the young pope, compelled him to leave that city. And 
that he might indulge in debauchery with less shame, he sold the 
popedom to John, who succeeded him as Victor II. f This young 
monster was infallible. Innocent VIII. t became Pope of Rome 
A. D. 1484. Of his infallible power to decide on questions of 
morals we may learn from the fact, that he was the father of six- 
teen children without the benedictions of matrimony. 

Alexander VL became pope A. D. 1492. He w^as the most 
untruthful and treacherous man in public or private life, in the 
priesthood or in the penitentiary, Europe supported. He was 
cruel beyond almost any other assassin of his own or other times ; 
he was the most licentious and foul creature whose deeds history 
records and stigmatizes. Incest, poisonings, odious uncleanness, 
and murders were the blessings Alexander gave as his papal bene- 
diction to his friends. His name ^^ Borgia," in whose infamy his 
son Caesar and his daughter Lucretia § shared, is now in every 
land the favorite designation of the most deadly poisoner ; and 
that because of infallible Alexander and his precious children. 

There have been good and kind men popes of Rome ; but there 

* Bower's •' Hist, of the Popes," vol. ii. p. 316. Philada., 1844. 

t Id., ii. p. 340. X Id., iii. p. 238. § Id. iii. pp. 259-270. Philada., 1845. 



342 CONSTAJ^CE DENIES INFALLIBILITY. 

have been many of another sort; men whose company would be 
an insult to Judas, and whose infallibility in faith and morals is 
too ridiculous to be discussed. 

Catholics as a Church never received the Doctrine till 1870. 

Many of the leading men in the Church of Rome have utterly 
repudiated papal infallibility. The learned Catholic, Du Pin, 
speaking of the fourth century, says : " The Church of Rome, 
founded by St. Peter and St. Paul, was considered as the first, and 
its bishop as the first amongst all the bishops of the w^orld ; yet 
they did not believe him to be infallible ; and though they frequently 
consulted him, and his advice was of great consequence, yet they 
did not receive it blindfold and implicitly, every bishop imagining 
himself to have a right to judge in ecclesiastical matters^' * The 
Bishop of Rome could give no la^vs to other prelates, he could offer 
advice. Every ancient bishop had the same authority over his 
flock, which the pope had over his. 

Constance and Papal Infallibility^ 

The Synod of Constance assembled in A. d. 1414 ; and among 
its decrees is this memorable one ; 

'^ Every lawfully convoked CEcumenical Council representing 
the Church, derives its authority immediately from Christ, and 
every one, the pope included, is subject to it in matters of faith, in 
the healing of schism, and in the reformation of the Church." 
This decree was passed unanimously. And to show the meaning 
of the decree and the infallibility of the pontiff, Pope John 
XXIIL, t a very base man, was deposed by the council, and 
Martin V. elected his successor. So far from being infallible, the 
pope was subject to the council in faith and morals, in office and 
in punishment. 

According to Archbishop Manning, in the late Vatican Coun- 
cil, eighty bishops spoke on the general question of which papal 
infallibility was the main point, and nearly forty of these were' 
what the newspapers termed the opposition. " The proportion of 

* Du Pin, i. p. 590. Dublin, 1723. 

f "The Pope and Council," by Janus, p. 244. Boston, 1870. 



OPPOSITION TO INFALLIBILITY IX THE LATE COUNCIL. 343 

the opposition to the council/' says he, " ivas not more than one- 
sixthJ^ If this statement is true, it shows that about one hundred 
and fifteen bishops did not believe in the new dogma. Infallibility 
wa»s the davling scheme of the sovereign pontiff; for years he and 
his instruments, in every quarter of the world, had been advocat- 
ing it, by flatteries, promotions, and frowns. His influence Avith 
clergy and laity was immense. The council is held under his own 
eye in Rome, where threatenings, favors, and crafty persuasions, 
and the perils of excommunication can play such a mighty part. 
Besides, only the few have sufficient independence to come out 
against power ; and in the face of danger. From these facts it is 
reasonable to su^^pose that the council held elsewhere would have 
shown a majority against infallibility. But on the archbishop's 
own admission one-sixth of the council were against it. And these, 
we may add, were among the ablest men in the Catholic Church. 

The majority at the end of the eighty speeches closed the gen- 
eral discussion ; the archbishop feels that this was a step to be 
excused, and he says : " Most reasonably the council closed the 
general discussion.'' Evidently die opposition were powerful and 
troublesome, and the archbishop might have had a different opin- 
ion of the reasouableness of ending the general discussion if he had 
not been the most active instrument of the aged pontiif and his 
Jesuitical advisers in the Council of 1870. One hundred and 
fifty bishops petitioned the president to have the debate ended ; 
the question was put to the vote, and carried by an " overwhelm- 
ing majority." 

Then speeches might be made on each one of the five parts of 
the decree ; and upon the last, one hundred and twenty inscribed 
their names to speak, * but when fifty of them were heard the dis- 
cussion terminated. The archbishop says it was from '' sheer ex- 
haustion." Perhaps it was. Those who do not like addresses are 
easily wearied with them ; no doubt the pope and his friends 
would rather have had the decree ratified by the synod without an 
opposition speech. But it would be a greater miracle than the 
infallibility of Rodrigo Borgia, the patron saint of the poisoners, 
to discover seventy men so anxious to speak on a question, that 



Vatican Council," by Arclibp. Mannini^, pp. 37, 38. N. Y., 1871. 



Ci4 TROUBLES 12^ THE VATICA:?^ COUNCIL. 

they record their names and wishes in the proper place ; and then, 
without uttering a word, these ready men, from sheer exhaustion 
in hearing others, bury their kindled and flashing light. 

In measuring the opposition, we are attracted by the archbishop's 
words : * " In a period of nine months the cardinal president wa.'r 
compelled to recall the speakers to order perhaps twelve or fourteen 
times.'' Bishops are commonly grave men, not inclined to violent 
outbursts of auger in clerical convocations. It is not to be pre- 
sumed that the cardinal president would call his own section of 
the council to order, unless indeed there was unusual need for it. 
Those called to order were the determined men, whom neither 
frowns nor favors could silence. The cause must have been very 
dear to a bishop when, before hundreds of his brethren^ he would 
place himself in a position to be publicly rebuked. Perhaps the 
archbishop observed every instance of violated propriety, and care- 
fully noted it down. He admits that the ruling of the president 
was occassionally greeted with " audible murmurs of dissent : that 
now and then a comment may have been made aloud ; and that 
in a very few instances expressibns of strong disapproval, and of 
exhausted patience at length escaped.'^ f But witliout doubting 
the archbishop's veracity, and remembering that he, as the ablest 
prelate of the pope, is showing the most flattering view of the 
ca.se, we are driven to the conclusion that infallibility was not a 
pleasant dose in the A^atican Council. Elswhere he admits that 
it was a " Doctrine which for centuries had divided both pastors 
and people, the defining of which (by a council) was contested by 
a numerous and organized opposition.'' J Infallibility in the pope, 
as a church doctrine, is the latest novelty in the papal system, and 
one against which many of the sons of Rome protested most 
loudly. 

The Doctrine has been often proved False. 

The Sixth General Council, which met at Constantinople, A. D. 
680, in its 17th action condemned Pope Honorius as a heretic: § 
'^They all exclaimed anathema to the heretic Hon- 

* "Vatican Council," by Arclihp. Manning, p. 33. K Y., 1871. 

t Id., pp. 33-4. t It^-. p. 59. 

§ Cone. VL, 1010.— Labbs and Cossart. Paris, 1671-3. 



TWO POPES FALL FROM THE FAITH. 345 

orius ! '^ Archbishop Manning attempts to defend Honorius, by 
asserting that his case is doubtful ; that Honorius defined no 
doctrine ; that he prohibited the making of any new definition ; 
that his fault precisely Avas in this omission of apostolic authority, 
and that his two epistles are entirely orthodox. * Let us suppose 
that these assertions are true ; then the Sixth General Council, led 
by the Holy Spirit, as Catholics suppose, made a false decree about 
Honorius. If that is admitted, it follows that we have no evidence, 
that Catholics have none, to prove that the Vatican Council has 
not made a false decree about the infallibility of Pius IX. The 
Sixth Council surely condemned Honorius as a heretic. If its 
judgment was just, no pope is infallible. If that council was 
mistaken, so may the Vatican Council of last year have been 
mistaken ; and therefore that council gives no proof by its decree 
of the pope's infallibility. Nor is its decision, or the vote of any 
other council competent testimony to prove the truth of any 
doctrine. The archbishop may take either conclusion. 

Vigilius, Bishop of Rome, in the sixth century, according to 
Du Pin, was not popular with his people because he was a usurper, 
being the cause of the death of their lawful bishop ; they charged 
him with killing his secretary with a blow of his fist, and with whip- 
ping the son of his sister till he died. This precious pope showed 
his infallibility in matters of faith by opposing first, ^^ the condemna- 
tion of the Three Chapters, which was resolved upon in the Fifth 
Council ; he suffered himself to be banished rather than subscribe 
to it ; but guided by his own caprice or interest, he quickly con- 
demned them, after an authentic manner, that he might return 
into Italy." f I^ would take the shrewdest follower of the hero 
of Pampeluna to show that Vigilius was infallible. And as the 
destruction of one link in the cable sends the ship from her 
anchor, so the existence of one pope like Honorius or Vigilius 
shows the utter untruthfulness of infallibility in matters of faith 
or morals. 

THE GREAT VATICAN COUNCIL OF 1870. 

This body assembled in Rome, representing thirty nations. It 
was composed at first of 767 bishops. The synod received a 

* "Vatican Council," by Manning, pp. 244-5. N. Y., 1871. 
•}• Du Pin, 1. 552. 



346 DOGMA OF INFALLIBILITY. 

printed paper containing the subject under discussion, a copy of 
which was given to every bishop ; eight or ten days were allowed 
for suggestions in writing upon the printed topic ; these observa- 
tions were handed to a committee of twenty-four, who incorporated 
them in the Schema, or not, according to their pleasure. The 
text so amended, if the twenty-four changed it, or in its original 
form, was then proposed for general examination and debate. 
Every bishop might speak till the president called him to order. 
The previous question might be called for by the petition of ten 
fathers. 

The first constitution, '^ On Faith,'' received the votes of 664 
bishops. The second, involving Infallibility, was put to the vote 
on the 13th of July, and eighty-eight votes were cast against it. 
On the 18th of July, 1870, it was put on its final passage, and 
only two bishops recorded their disapprobation of the measure. 
The Schema is entitled 

First dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ. 

The first chapter declares the primacy of the Church to be 
Peter's. 

The second asserts that this primacy is perpetuated in the 
Roman Pontiffs. 

The third makes it to mean that the pope is teacher and master 
of all Christians. 

The fourth is on the infallible teaching of the pontiff. The 
only portion of the chapter of any consequence is at the end of it, 
where it proclaims 

THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPE. . 

a ^e * therefore, faithfully adhering to the tradition received 
from the beginning of the Christian faith, for the glory of God our 
Saviour, the exaltation of the Catholic religion, and the salvation 
of Christian people, the sacred council giving its sanction, teach 
and define, that it is a dogma divinely revealed, that the Pope of 

* Itaque nos tradition! a fidei Cliristianse exordio perceptae fideliter inlifE- 
rendo, ad Dei Salvatoris nostri gloriara, religionis Catliolicae exaltationem et 
Christianorum populorum salutem, sacro approbante concilio, docemus et 
diviuitus reveiatum dogma esse definimus : Romanum Pontificem, cum ex 



DOGMA OF INFALLIBILITY, 347 

Rome, when lie speaks ex cuil.edra, that is, when discharging the 
duty of pastor and teacher of all Christians, he defines a doctrine, 
by his supreme apostolical authority, either about faith or morals 
to be held by the universal Church, by the divine assistance, pro- 
mised him in blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility, by 
which the divine Redeemer wished his Church to be instructed in 
defininoj doctrines about faith or morals : therefore definitions of 
the Roman Pontiff of this description are of themselves irreform- 
able, and not from the consent of the Church. 

" But if any one shall presume to contradict this definition of 
ours, which may God avert ; let him be accursed. 

" Given at Rome in public session solemnly held in the Vatican 
Basilica, in the eighteen hundred and seventieth year of our Lqrd^s 
incarnation, on the eighteenth day of July in the twenty -fifth year 
of our Pontificate. 

In conformity with the original. 

Joseph, Bishop of S. Polten, 

Secretary of the Vatican CounoiV^ 

What will this Dogma accomjjUsh f 

If it carries out the intentions of its friends it will coerce the 
minds of men " into subjection to every papal pronouncement in 
matters of religion, morals, politics, and social science."* And if 
the doctrine is fully received, it can have no other result. It is 
designed as far as possible to repeal the decree of the Father in vest- 
cathedra loquitur, id est, cum omnium Ghristianorum pastoris et doctoris 
munere fungens, pro suprema sua apostolica auctoritate doctriuam de fide 
vel moribus ab universa ecclesia teneudam definit, per assistentiam divinam, 
ipsi in beato Petro promissam, ea infallibilitate pollere, qua divinus Redemp- 
tor ecclesiam suam in definienda doctrina de fide vel moribus instructam esse 
voluit ; ideoque ejusmodi Romani Pontificis defiuitioues ex sese, non autem 
exconsensu ecclesise irretbrmabiles esse. 

Si quis autem huic nostrse definition! contradicere, quod Deus avertat, prse- 
sumpserit ; anathema sit. 

Datum Romse, in publica sessione in Vaticana Basilica solemniter celebrata 
anno Incarnationis Dominicge millesimo octingentesimo septuagesimo, die 
decima octava Julii, pontificatus nostri anno vigesimo quinto. 

Ita est. — Josephus, Episcopus S. Ippoliti., Sec. Cone. Vatic. — ''^Yatican 
Council,'''' J)y Manning^ p. 229. 

* " The Pope and Council," by Janus, p. 38. 



348 INFALLIBILITY DESTEOYS LIBERTY OF CHURCH. 

ing Jesus Christ with all power in heaven and upon earth, and to 
confer the terrestrial empire of Immanuel upon his Holiness. 
What human beliefs and actions cannot be easily ranged under the 
categories of " faith and morals ? '^ It might be easily said that 
certain political opinions are immoral, that certain occupations, or 
some methods of conducting all transactions are immoral. Morality, 
or its opposite, like breathing and the life of a human body, is in- 
separable from every sane action of human existence. This decree, 
investing the pope with what he never had, and with what the 
council approving of it, never saw in him, and with what it did 
not possess to bestow on him or on any one else, really gave the 
pope authority to enter the souls of all under his dominion and 
regi^late their beliefs ; and to interfere in the whole transactions 
of life whenever he was so disposed and could compel obedience, 
under the pretence that the interest of morals demanded it. 

It abolished the authority of the ancient fathers, and the claims 
of all other competitors of primitive or of modern times for the em- 
pire of conscience ; and it handed over the soul in chains to the 
infallible old man, tottering on the verge of eternity, on the banks 
of the Tiber. It has annihilated the legislative power of the Catho- 
lic Church. Hitherto, in councils, Romish bishops were the supreme 
legislature of their Church ; led in all their decisions, as they ima- 
gined, by the Spirit, they made canons and laws for popes and nations 
which pontifical authority could not change. IN^ow the pope is infal- 
lible, and there will be no farther need to call them from the ends 
of the earth for canon and decree making. Other motives mil 
bring them together, if they ever assemble again, than demands 
for sacred legislation. 

The pope is infallible only when, as the pastor and teacher of 
Christians, he speaks ex cathedra, that is, when he addresses some 
bull to the faithful. And every such document in the past, as 
well as all similar missives in the future, must be regarded as 
infallible. 

Paul IV. issued ex cathedra the bull cum ex apostolatus officio, 
in which he asserts that as God^s representative on earth he has 
full authority over nations and kingdoms; that he judges all and 
can be judged by none ; that all princes^ monarchy and bishops, as 
soon as they fall into heresy, are irrevocably deposed and incur 



INFALLIBILITY MAKES POPE MASTER OF NATIONS. 349 

sentence of death; that none may venture to give any aid to a 
heretical prince, even the mere services of common humanity ; 
any monarch who renders such help forfeits his dominions and 
property. * This bull was issued in A. D. 1558 ; it was subscribed 
by the cardinals, and afterwards confirmed and renewed by Pius V. 
That is an infallible document now. The pope has authority over 
all nations and kings ; monarchs are worthy of death for adopt- 
ing Protestantism ; and those who assist them are condemned to 
lose everything ! 

The popes never relinquish anything. Their coral rocks always 
grow. The claims of their infallibility would lead them, had they 
the power, to dethrone modern kings ; to burn the successors of 
John Huss and Jerome of Prague ; to dig up and consign to the 
flames the bones of our modern Wycliifes ; to cast the Bible into 
the fire; to destroy the liberty of the press; the freedom ol 
conscience, the worship of Protestants, and every other obstacle 
to the triumph of priestly despotism. Infallibility means an 
unparalleled mental, moral, material and universal tyranny — a 
despotism only limited by the rising manhood of Catholic lay- 
men, and the invincible power of that heaven-armed gospel des- 
tined to bathe the world in floods of glory, and cleanse it fi^om all 
apostasy and paganism. 

* " The Pope and Council," by Janus, p. 311. Boston, 1870. 



THE FREED03I OF THE PRESS. 

Among Protestants there is a sublime confidence in truth, a 
fearless conviction that error will give her only an opportunity for 
fresh victories, a field to display her unequalled prowess, and the 
intrinsic weakness and wickedness of all her enemies. The rugged 
mountain-peak does not try to remove the huge arms of the tem- 
pest when, in its greatest fury, it embraces it ; the ocean may be 
lashed into gigantic billows, towering, in crested and foaming ma- 
jesty, over its mighty bosom ; but the sea, as if conscious that the 
hurricane cannot hurt it, that it will soon be as calm and as deep 
as ever, allows the wind to sport with its waters without an effort 
to resist them. The earth, when vast hosts assemble in battle 
array on her surface, listens to their rattling musketry, their thun- 
dering artillery, their shrieks, their shouts, the clash and din of 
arms, the trumpet blasts of victory ; but she rolls on, as if con- 
scious that their struggles, groans and slaughter, cannot injure 
her ; that, in a few months, the grass will hide the traces of battle ; 
and, in a few years, if it were not for memory or books, not a 
footprint of savage Mars would be on the scene once slippery with 
blood, and horrible with agony and slaughter. So Protestants, 
judging by their free press and unrestrained speech, feel about 
their principles. They say, in deeds, to papal Christendom, send 
your monks and nuns to attack us, your priests and bishops, your 
Jesuits, and sistersof mercy and charity; send your books and con- 
fessional, your logic and your zeal ; let there be a siege or an 
assault, a battle on the open plain, or an effort at secret slaughter, 
like the mountain-top, defying the whirlwind, or the ocean, 
despising the furious gale, or the earth, unterrified by the throes 
ahH roars of the great battle, we hurl defiances in the faces of all ; 
we are so sure that our principles will uproot yours, and bathe 
350 



FREEDOM OF THE PPtESS. 351 

humanity in the light of saving love, that we do not fear your ef- 
forts, and would disdain to hinder you from making war upon 
Protestantism. That is the faith and the practice of all great 
centres of evangelical Christianity. The Church of Rome has 
always acted as if she feared for the success of her religion, and, 
whenever she had an opportunity, invited the policeman, the 
prison, confiscation, the rack, the flames, the axe, and the halte 
to quiet her enemies, and to give perseverance to her friends. ^,. 

rin the Council of Trent, legislation against the freedom of th 
press was introduced by the legates of the Holy See who preside 
over it, and it was referred by them to a committee. The subjec 
was called: ^' The Business of the Books, Censures, and Index." 
The committee consisted of ^' The Embassador of Hungary, the 
Patriarch of Venice, four Archbishops, nine bishojis, one abbot, 
and two generals" (of religiuii.s orders).* J 

/ 
Decree of the Council about this Committee, 

" The sacred and holy synod, in the second session, celebrated 
under our most holy lord, Pius IV., entrusted to certain chosen 
fathers, to consider what ought to be done about various censures 
and books, either suspected or pernicious, to report to the holy 
synod itself. Hearing now that the last hand has been put to that 
labor by them, ^vhich, however, cannot be distinctly and advanta- 
geously decided by the holy synod, on account of the variety and 
multitude of the books, it orders that, whatever has been done by 
them, may be shown to the most holy Roman Pontifl", that it may 
be settled and published by his decision and authority. And it 
commands that the same should be done about the Catechism by 
the fathers to whom that question was entrusted, and about the 
jNIJ^sal and Breviary." f 

fOne very important work of this committee was the preparation 
of the Catechism of the Council of Trent, which was finally pub- 
lished three years after the dissolution of that synod by command 
of Pius V. It is a work of five hundred pages, prepared with 

* Sarpi, p. 477. London, 1629. 

f De Indice Libr. et Catecli, sess. xxv. p. 205, Canones et Decreta Cone. 
Trid. Lipsise, 1803. 




352 TRENT FORBIDS THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. 

singular ability, and it presents the most complete view of Catholic 
doctrine and practices in existence. Of course, its statements bear 
the impress of the highest authority. 

The weightiest business with which this committee was charged 
was the duty of looking after books doubtful or dangerous in the 
judgment of the Catholic hierarchy ; it framed TEN EXILES for 
prohibited books, which were published with the approval of the 
pope, and which have been the laws of the Catholic Church ever 
since. 

THE PAPAL ENACTMENTS DESIGNED TO KEEP CATHOLICS IG- 
NORANT. 

The first rule condemns all books censured by popes or councils 
before a. d. 1515. 

The second condemns the works of all arch-heretics and minor 
errorists since A. D. 1515 ; it, however, permits books of the latter 
class of authors on secular subjects, and books of Catholic writers 
who have fallen into heresy, after examination by a Romish uni- 
versity or general inquisition, to be read. 

The third permits the Old Testament, at the diseretion of the 
bishop, to learned and pious men. But versions of the New Tes- 
tament made by authors of the first class of this index shall be 
permitted to no one. 

The fourth prohibits the reading of the Bible in the vulgar 
tongue (no matter in what version), unless w^hen a bishop or in- 
quisitor, on the recommendation of a confessor, grants the privi- 
lege ; and it ordains heavy penalties against those who sell or read 
it. Even monks must not search the Scriptures Avithout the per- 
mission of their superiors. 

The fifth permits lexicons, and similar works, from heretical 
authors, after being duly expurgated, to be read. 

The sixth permits books on practical religion to be read by the 
faithful in their own tongue ; but forbids the perusal of contro- 
versial books, except when permitted by a bishop or inquisitor on 
the advice of a confessor. 

The seventh forbids the use of all indecent books except the an- 
cient classics, and it permits these with restrictions. 



TRENT AGAINST THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. 353 

The eighth permits the use of books whose general sentiment is 
good, after purification by the Catholic authorities. 

The ninth forbids the nse of all books on magic, necromancy, 
and kindred subjects. 

Tlie tenth aims at 

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS THROUGH- 
OUT CHRISTENDOM. 

It reads : * " Wherefore, if, in the noble city of Rome, any book 
is to be printed, let it be first examined by the vicar of the supreme 
pontiff, and the master of the sacred palace, or by persons ap- 
pointed by our most holy lord. But in other places, let its exami- 
nation and approval belong to the bishop, or to another having 
knowledge of the book or writing to be printed, such person to be 
appointed by the same bishop, and an inquisitor of heretical de- 
pravity, of that state or diocese in which the printing will be exe- | 
cuted, and let it be approved by their hand, to be imposed by their ? 
subscription gratuitously, and without delay, under the punish- j; 
ments and censures contained in the same decree, w^ith the addition -' J 
of this law and condition, that an authentic copy of the work to be 
printed, subscribed by the author, shall remain with the examiner; • ,, 
but the deputed fathers judge that those who issue manuscript \l 
works, unless they are first examined and approved, should be 
fjubjected to the same penalties as the printers : and they who re- 
tain and read them should be held as the authors unless they give 
up the authors. But let the approbation itself be given in writing, H 

* Quare, si in alma urbe Roma liber aliquis sit impriraeudus, per vicarium '■ 

Summi Poatificis et sacri palatii magistium, vel personas a sanctissimo do- | 

mino nostro deputandas prius examinetur. In aliis vero locis ad episcopum f 

vel alium liabentem scientiam libri vol scriptnrge imprimendge, ab eodem 
episcopo depntandum, ac inquisitorem hfereticae pravitatis ejus civitatis vel 
dioecesis, in qua impressio liet, ejus npprobatio et examen pertineat, et per 
eoTum manum propria subscriptione gratis et sine dilatioue imponendam sub 
poenis et censuris in eodem decreto contentis approbetur, hac lege et con- 
ditione addita, nt exemplum libri imprimendi authenticum et manu auctoris 
subscriptum, apud examiuatorem remaneat ; eos vero, qui libellos manscrip- 
tos vulgam*^, nisi ante examinati probatique fuerint iisdem poenis subjici de- 
bere judicarunt patres deputati, quibus impressores ; et qui eos babuerint et 
legerint, nisi auctores prodiderint, pro auctoribus babeantur. Ipsa vero 
hujusmodi librorum probatio in scriptis detur, et in fronte libri vel scripti vel 
23 



354 TRENT AGAINST THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. 

and let it appear authentically in the front of the book, whether 
manuscript or printed ; and let the proving and examination, and 
all the rest, be attended to gratuitously. Moreover, in the several 
states and dioceses, let the houses or places where printing is per- 
formed, and libraries of books are for sale, be frequently visited by 
persons deputed for that object by the bishop, or by his vicar, and 
also by the inquisitor of heretical depravity, that none of the pro- 
hibited things may be printed, sold, or kept. Let all librarians and 
booksellers have in their libraries a catalogue of the books for sale, 
which they keep, with the subscription of said persons. And let 
them keep or sell no other books, or by any means deliver them, 
without the licence of the same deputies, under the penalty of the 
confiscation of the books, or other punishments, to he inflicted at the 
discretion of the bishops or inquisitors. And let the buyers, readers, 
and printers be punished at the discretion of the same. But if any 
persons introduce any books whatsoever into any state, let them be 
bound to report them to the same deputies ; or, if a public place 
has been appointed for such wares, let the public servants of that 
place signify to the persons aforesaid that books have been brought. 
Let no one dare to deliver a book which he himself or another 
has introduced into a state, to any one to read, or by any means to 
transfer or lend it, unless the book has first been shown, and a 

impress! anthentice appareat, probatioque et examen, ac cetera gratis fiant. 
Praeterea in singulis civitatibns ac dioecessibus domus vel loci, ubi ars impres- 
soria exercitur, et bibliothecse librorum venalium ssepius visitentur a perso- 
nis ad id deputandis ab episcopo sive ejus vicario, atque etiam ab inquisitore 
hgereticse pravitatis, ut nihil eorum, quae prohibentur, aut imprimatur, aut 
vendatur, -aut habeatur. Omnes vero librarii et quicunque librorum ven- 
ditores habeant in suis bibliotliecis indicem librorum venalium, quos babent, 
cum subscriptione dictarum personarum, nee alios libros habeant, a\Tt ven- 
dant, aut quacunque ratione tradant sine licentia eorundem deputandorum, 
sub poena amissionis librorum, et aliis arbitrio episcoporum vel inquisitorum 
imponendis. Emptores vero, lectores vel impressores eorundem arbitrio 
puniantur. Quod si aliqui libros quoscunque in aliquam civitatem introdu- 
cant, teneantur eisdem personis deputandis renunciare, vel, si locus publicus ' 
mercibus ejusmodi constitutus sit, ministri publici ejus loci prsedictis perso- 
nis significent libros esse adductos. Nemo vero audeat librum, quem ipse 
vel alius in civitatem introduxit alicui legendum tradere, vel aliqua ratione 
alienare aut commodare, nisi ostenso prius libro, et habita licentia a personis 
deputandis, aut nisi notorie constet, librum jam esse omnibus permissum. 
Idem quoque servetur ab beredibus et exsecutoribus ultimarum voiuntatum, 



TRENT AGAINST THE FREEDO:\r OF THE PRESS. S56 

licence obtained from the deputies, or unless it is notoriously clear 
that the book is now permitted to all. Let the same thing also be 
done by heirs and executors of last wills, that they may present 
the books left by the departed, or a catalogue of them, to those 
deputies, and obtain a licence from them, before they use them, oi- 
in any way transfer them to other persons. But in all and each 
of these particulars, let the punishment be fixed either by the loss 
of the books, or by some other pahis, at the discretion of the same 
bishops or inquisitors, according to the character of the contumacy 

or the crime In conclusion, it is enjoined upon all the 

faithful, that no one presume, against the authority of these rules, 
or the prohibition of this index, to retain or read any books. But 
if any one shall keep or read the books of heretics, or the writings 
of any author condemned and prohibited for heresy, or for the 
suspicion of a false dogma, let him immediately incur the sentence 
of excommunication. But he who shall read or keep books in- 
terdicted on any other account, besides the guilt of mortal sin, 
with which he is'affcrted, let him be punished severely at the discre- 
tion of the bishop.^' 

Pius IV., entering with his whole heart into the oppressive 
spirit which governed the Council of Trent in most of its decrees, 
after reading these ten rules, and submitting them for examination 
to some learned men, sent them forth with his approbation in a 
bull eulogistic of their tenor and claims, in which he says: * "By 
our apostolic authority, we approve, by tliese presents, the index 

lit libros a defimctis relictos. Sive eorum indicem illis personis deputandis 
oflFerant, et ab iis licentiam obfmeant, pviusquam eis iitantur, aut in alias per- 
sonas quacnnque ratione transferant. In his autem omnibus et singulis 
poena statuatur vel amissionis librorum, vel alia arbitrio eorundem episcopo- 

rum vel inquisitorum, pro qualitate contumacioe vel delicti 

Ad extremum vero omnibus fidelibus prascipitur, ne quis audeat contra ha- 
rum regularum praescriptum, aut hujus indicis prohibitionem libros aliquos 
legere aut habere. Quod si quis libros haereticorum vel cujusvis aucloris 
scripta, ob haeresim vel ob falsi dogmatis suspicionem damnata atque ])rohi 
bita, legerit sive habuerit, statim in excommunicationis sententiam incnrrat. 
Qui vero libros alio nomine interdictos legerit, aut habuerit, proeter peccati 
mortalis rcatum, quo afficitur, judicio episcoporum severe puniatur. — Gano- 
nes et Deer eta Cone. Trid., Begula x., De Lib. Prohib.., pp. 23o-6. LipsisB, 
1803. 

* Ipsum indicem una cum regnlis ei prcepositis auctoritate apostolica te- 
nore prsesentium approbamus, imprimique ac divulgari, et ab omnibus uni- 



356 TRENT AGAINST THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. 

itself, together with the rules prefixed to it ; and we command and 
decree that it be printed and published, and that it be received 
everywhere by all Catholic universities, and by every one whatso- 
ever ; and that these rules be observed ; prohibiting each and all, as 
well ecclesiastics, secular and regular, of every grade, order and 
dignity, as laymen, no matter what their honor and dignity, that 
no one may dare to keep or read any books contrary to the command 
of these rules, and the prohibition of the index itself.'^ 

This bull was issued on the 24tli of March, 1564, and is binding 
on all Catholics, and on the whole Protestant world at this mo- 
ment. No canon about the mass stands more defiantly on the 
statute book of Rome than the decree of Pope Pius, giving validity 
to these rules. There is no likelihood of their repeal ; such an act 
would declare infallibility to be liable to grave mistakes, and ha^ 
a tendency to overturn the whole pyramid of papal pretensions.j 
But Rome seeks no change. The Church of the popes to-day, In 
the principles of those who dictate her great movements, is of one 
mind with Pius IV. and the fathers of Trent, and would, if she 
had the opportunity, chain the flashes of human genius, the impe- 
rial mountain-billows of that intellect which only God can imprison 
or guide. 

The tenth rule prohibits the circulation of all printed matter, 
and even manuscript works, unless permitted by a Catholic bishop 
or inquisitor, or their deputies. On pain of losing the books, and of 
enduring any other ^punishment the bishop or the inquisitor may 
choose to inflict. 

It places the literature of the world in the hands of men who 
thrust Galileo into the inquisition for his astronomical doctrines, and 
compelled him to deny that the earth moves, and who have the 
greatest jealousy of all light ; who, if they had power, would restore 
the blindness of the dark ages, and perpetuate its ignorance and 
tyranny till the blasts of the last trumpet awoke the dead. 

versitatibus catholicis, ac qulbuscunque aliis ubique suscipi, easque regulas 
observari mandamus atque decernimns ; inhibentes omnibus et singulis, tarn 
ecclesiasticis personis sfBCularibus et regularibus, cujuscuuque gradus, ordi- 
nis et dignitatis sint, quam laicis quocunque honore ac dignitate prseditis, ne 
quis contra earum regularum preescriptum aut ipsius proliibitionem indicis 
Hbros ullos legere habereve audeat. — Pius IV.. Ad Futuram jRei Memo- 
riam, p. 2o7, Canones et Decreta. Cone. Trid. Lipsiee, 1863. 




1NTENTI0?( IN THE PRIEST NECESSARY TO THE 
VALIDITY OF A SACRAMENT. 

This is one of the most curious and dreadful doctrines ever 
proclaimed by human lips or written by the pen of man. In the 
seventh session of the Council of Trent, thirteen canons were 
enacted upon the sacraments generally, cursing those who shall 
say, that the sacraments of the new law were not appointed by 
the Saviour ; that they do not differ unless in externals from the 
sacraments of the ancient law ; that the sacraments of the new 
law are not necessary to salvation ; and pronouncing curses upon 
all persons guilty of various crimes against the sacraments. 
Among these maledictions is the following : 

^aF ONE SHALL SAY, THAT IN MINISTERS, 
WHILST THEY COMPLETE AND CONFER THE 
SACRAMENTS, THERE IS NOT REQUIRED THE 
INTENTION, AT LEAST OF DOING WHAT THE 
CHURCH DOES, LET HIM BE ACCURSED." * 

This canon sows uncertainty broadcast over the Catholics of the 
world. Suppose that the priest who baptizes a child did not 
intend to " do as the Church does,'^ in granting the sacrament, 
then the child is not baptized, and no faith subsequently received, 
no works performed in the future can remove that original defect ; 
according to the Catholic theory that man is not a Christian, and 
cannot be saved. Suppose that when that man comes to be mar- 
ried, the same priest performs the ceremony with the usual rites, 
but he does not intend to marry the couple, then it foHows, that 
the sacrament of marriage has never been administered to tliis 

* Si quis dixerit, in ministris dum sacramenta conficiunt et confeiunt, 
non requiri intentionem saltern faciendi quod facit ecclesia ; anathema sit. — 
Can. xi . sess. vii., Canones et Decreta Cone. Trid., p. 43. Lipsiae, 1863. 

3J7 



:^58 INTENTION NECESSAEY TO CELEBRATE A SACRAMENT. 

man and his wife^ that their wedded relations are stained with the 
infamy of fornication, and that their children are branded before 
God with the crime of illegitimacy. And suppose again, that this 
priest in consecrating the host does not intend to consecrate it, it 
follows, according to the papal theory, that it is not the real body 
and blood of Jesus, that it is only bread ; and, therefore, when 
the people worship what they regard as the very Son of ISIary, 
they are only adoring a piece of paste, they are guilty of idolatry. 
And suppose this priest in the confessional solemnly absolves a 
penitent man from his sins, but does not intend to release him 
from his guilt, on the Roman theory, the poor suppliant has no 
pardon, he rejoices in a delusion, he is the victim of sacerdotal 
imposition. And suppose that this priest baptizes an infant boy 
without the intention of doing it, and as a consequence the child 
is not a Christian, and can never perform with true validity any 
act of a Christian ; that in time the priest becomes a bishop, and 
the babe becomes a man, and a candidate for the service of the 
altar; that his old friend ordains him deacon and priest, but 
" does not intend to do as the Church does,'' in either case, it 
follows that all the children he baptizes are heathens outside of 
the Church, and with no title to heaven ; that all his absolutions 
are null, and his penitents are still in their sins; that all his 
marriages are invalid, the parties being yet before God destitute 
of wedded sanctions ; and that all his masses are impositions, tlsc 
man himself being neither a priest nor a Christian ; and hence all 
the people that worshipped the hosts which he consecrated were 
guilty of idolatry on every occasion in which they were in the 
church when he celebrated mass. Now let us suppose farther, 
that this young man becomes pope in process of time,, and he sits 
in Peter's chair for many years. He is not a Christian, he is not 
a priest, he can perform no religious act because he was never 
baptized ; then all his masses are senseless mummeries, all his 
pontifical blessings are impositions ; he has no right to send the 
Pallium to any bishop, so that the hundreds of bishops who have 
been consecrated during his long reign are destitute of authority 
to perform one episcopal act; all the priests and deacons they 
have ordained are laymen still, all the children they have bap- 
tized are yet in heathenism ; all their absolutions are mockeries, 



A PRIEST WITHOUT INTENTION. 359 

and all their masses are but idolatries. Since the heavens were 
stretched over the earth, since this globe's covering of waters was 
gathered up into seas, nothing so monstrous as this doctrine was 
ever invented. No Catholic, without omniscient knowledge of 
the priest's intention, can possibly tell whether he was baptized, ab- 
solved, married, ordained ; or whether in the mass he was idola- 
trously worshipping unchanged bread, or reverently adoring the 
veritable God-man made out of flour. In this way the whole earthly 
and everlasting religious privileges of the Catholic depend, not on 
Christ, not on the man's own deeds or his priest's, but on the inten- 
tions of a minister whose purposes he has no possible way of learning. 

And while Catholic priests have, no doubt, the ordinary honesty 
of motive common to men in general ; yet, as Protestant commu- 
nities have the deceitful, so unquestionably the Romish Church has 
the insincere and hypocritical, who, out of malice, or to gratify 
some caprice, or some sceptical opinion about the power of their 
sacraments, occasionally or frequently have no intention to '' do as 
the Church does," and their masses, absolutions and other rites are 
all counterfeits. 

Anthony Gavin, a Catholic priest of Saragossa, describes the 
confession of a brother priest on his deathbed, whose name he con- 
ceals, and who says : "The necessary intention of a priest in the 
administration of baptism and consecration (of the wafer) without 
which tlie sacraments are of no effect, I confess I had it not on 
several occasions, as you may see in the parish books ; and observe 
that the baptism was invalid of every person whose name is there 
marked with a star, for in such cases I had no intention. And 
for this I can give no other reason than my malice and wicked- 
ness. Many of them are dead, for which I am heartily sorry. As 
for the times I have consecrated (the wafer) without intention we 
must leave it to God's mercy, for the wrong done by it to the souls 
of my parishoners, and those in purgatory cannot be helped." * 
This disclosure is one of the most natural in the world. Unless 
Romish priests are niade of different materials than other men, 
than the elements of which the Saviour's twelve apostles were 
composed, tliere must be such characters as this dying priest, whose 

* " Master Key to Popery," p. 36. Cincinnati. 1833. 



360 NO ONE CAN TELL A PRIEST's INTENTION. 

intention was not always " to do as the Church does " in making 
sacraments. Gavin, on examining the parish books, found one 
hundred and fifty-two names marked with a star, and of the per- 
sons enrolled in tliis ill-starred register eiglity-six were dead. 
Gavin was greatly troubled about these persons, knowing that it is 
the decided opinion of the Church that " The intention of the priest 
is absolutely necessary to the validity of a sacrament, without which 
there is no sacrament at all.'' By the advice of his brother priests 
he communicated the case to the bishop, who summoned the persons 
still living, who through the absence of intention in the defunct 
priest, were not baptized ivhen they passed through all the forms of 
baptism, and bringing them into his own chamber separately, he 
baptized them; enjoining the strictest secrecy under the heaviest 
penalties upon each.* 

No Certainty about Salvation in the Catholic Church, 

According to Cardinal Bellarmine, f " It is not possible for any 
one to be sure with the certainty of faith that he has received a 
true sacrament, as a sacrament cannot be celebrated without the 
intention of the minister, and no one can see the intention of 
another.'' In the Romish Church, by the testimony of Bellar- 
mine, and the Council of Trent, no one can tell whether he has 
ever received a true sacrament ; nor has he any certainty whether 
he is not going headlong to the pit when he may have observed 
all the rites of the Church ; and when he may have the assurance 
of all its clergy that he is going straight to heaven. There Ls 
ground here for dreadful uncertainty and apprehensionTA 

* Gavin's -'Master Key to Popery," p. 38. Cincinnati. 1838. 

f Neqne potest certiis esse, certitudine fidei se percipere verum sacra- 
mentum, cum sacramentum sine intentione ministri non conficiatur, et inten- 
tionem alterius nemo videre possit. — Bell. Disput. de Justif., lib. iii. c. 8, 
sec. 5, torn. iv. p. 488. Prag., 1721. 



SECRET SOCIETIES. 

The Church of Rome has manifested a very violent antipathy 
to secret societies ; and makes it an offence of no common magnitude 
for one of her members to unite with such organizations. And 
this opposition is strongest against Freemasons and Odd-fellows. 

Clement XIL, 

In 1738,* published the bull " In Eminenti" against the Free- 
masons, in which he solemnly excommunicates them from his 
Church. This bull is binding on the whole Papal Church still. 
Clement was an unusually enlightened and liberal man for a bishop 
of Rome, but even he could tolerate nothing in papal countries 
which he could not control. 

M. Tournan is throivn into the Inquisition, at Madrid, in 1757. 

On the charge of being a Freemason he is cast into the dungeons 
of the Holy Office ; and in due time solemnly tried. The follow- 
ing is a portion of his examination : 

Q. You are then a Freemason? A. Yes. Q. How long have 
you been so ? A, For twenty years. Q. Have you attended the 
assemblies of Freemasons? A. Yes, in Paris. Q. Have you 
attended them in Spain ? A. No, I do not know that there are 
any lodges in Spain. Q. Are you a Christian, a Roman Catholic ? 
A, Yes, I was baptized in the parish of St. Paul at Paris. Q. 
How as a Christian dare you attend Masonic assemblies, knowing 
them to be contrary to religion? A. I did not know that; I 
never saw or heard there anything contrary to religion. Q. The 
Freemasons are an an ti -religious body? A. Their object is not to 

* Llorente's '^ Histoiy of the Inquisition," p. 191. Pliilada., 1843. 

361 



362 SECRET SOCIETIES. 

combat or deny the necessity or utility of any religion, but for the 
exercise of charity towards the unfortunate of any sect, particularly 
if he is a member of the society. §. What passes in these lodges 
which it might be inconvenient to publish ? A. Nothing, if it is 
viewed without prejudice. Q. Is it true that the festival of St. 
John is celebrated in the lodges, and if so, what worship is given 
in such celebration ? A. His festival is celebrated by a repast, 
after which there is a discourse exhorting the brethren to benefi- 
cence to their fellow creatures in honor of God. There is no wor- 
ship given to St. John. Q. Is it true that the sun, moon, and 
stars are honored in the lodges ? A. No. 

He was then assured that " He was a dogmatizing heretic, and 
that he should acknowledge this wdth humility, and ask pardon, 
for if he persisted in his obstinacy he would destroy both soul and 
body." He confessed that he was wrong, and demanded absolution, 
and hoped that his punishment would be moderate. He was con- 
demned to imprisonment for one year with a heavy batch of spiri- 
tual exercises during that period. He appeared with the infamous 
mantle, the sanbenito, at a private auto da fi celebrated in the hall 
of the Inquisition, where he promised never to meet with a Masonic 
assembly again. At the expiration of his imprisonment, he was 
expelled from Spain, and ordered never to return without the per- 
mission of the king or of the Holy Office.* 

Archbishop Oullen of Dublin, 

A few years since, wished to admonish the Irish to renounce Fenian 
organizations, and in his published pastoral, he began this work 
by denouncing Masonic and all secret societies generally, and then 
reached the object he had chiefly in view, the political clubs of his 
countrymen, w^hose secret meetings and schemes filled Great Britain 
and Ireland with apprehension and anxiety. 

The llission Book on Masons and Odd-fellows. 

This manual of prayer, recommended by Archbishop Hughes, 
and a work of great popularity, advises the penitent going to make 
a " general confession '' to question himself beforehand on the ten 



* Llorente's "History of the Inquisition," p.l92. Philada., 1843. 



SECEET SOCIETIES. 363 

commandments with a view to recall his sins, and to be ready to 
tell them to the priest. Under the first commandment he is to 
ask himself this question : ^^ Have you exposed your faith to danger 
by evil association.^ f HAVE YOU UNITED YOUKSELF 
TO THE FREEMASONS, OR ODD-FELLOWS, OR 
ANY SIMILAR SOCIETY FORBIDDEN BY THE 
CHURCH ?^^* 

It is known that not a few Catholics l)ecome members of various 
secret societies, notwithstanding the menaces of the Church ; but 
it is generally understood that in any serious sickness, or when 
desiring the use of the confessional, all such relations must be re- 
nounced. Rome must be mistress in everything, and mistress in 
all places ; and if not, she will drag her children away where the 
tiara is not sovereign. 

* "Mission Book," p. 305. K Y., 1866. 



THE FAMILY AND PUBLIC WORSHIP, AND THE 
BOOKS OE PROTESTANTS. 

The Irish Catholic, when not cursed by whiskey, nor degraded 
by crime, when his religion is not called in question, is an obliging, 
good-natured man; a kind word will make him extravagantly 
happy ; a loving act will summon up a torrent of grateful expres- 
sions, to be followed, if necessary, by all the practical exhibitions 
of thankfulness a man ever displayed. He is ready on the most 
trivial successes to shake off care, and to impart to his family and 
friends all the joy he can give. He will carry his wife and children, 
and his old father and mother in his heart over the oceans, and 
down the stream of years; and his generous love will make him 
labor in America, denying himself every comfort, to save money to 
send for the parents of his youth, the wife of his heart, the children 
that sported around his knee in his mud home in the " Green 
island,'' and called him ^' father." He has his faults ; but when free 
from drunkenness and crime, his ready wit and warm heart make 
him many friends among the sternest Protestants. 

And yet, ask him to come to an Evangelical church, and you 
are treading on excitable ground ; press the invitation stif&y, and 
the " exile of Erin " may burst into a towering passion,- and per- 
haps threaten your life. Or, instead of an effort to bring him to 
an Evano^elical church, offer him what he knows to be a Protestant 
tract or Bible, and insist upon his taking and reading it, and his 
countenance will instantly exhibit the fiercest passions, and his 
burning words, lighted up by oaths blazing with the flames of the 
pit, will make you wonder why such a cause should make him 
angry. The Protestant will listen to an invitation to a Romish 
church, and commonly will not be irritated however much it is 
pressed. He occiisionally may be found at Catholic worship. The 
364 



CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANT WORSHIP AND WRITINGS. 365 

Romanist is hardly ever seen in a non- Catholic sanctuary. Nay, 
the Catliolic will not come to family worship in the house of his 
Protestant employer. The anti-papist, instead of being angry at 
the oifer of Catholic books, will generally accept and read them. 
The tract-distributor is welcomed by Jews and Protestants, but 
frowned upon, if not insulted, by a man as full of good nature on 
other questions as any one whom the world contains. And if you 
ask how this change is produced, we answer : 

JBh Creed embitters him against the Protestant, his Worship and 

his Books. 

Among the questions which he is asked in the confessional are 
these : " Have you allowed yourself to be enticed into the churches 
of heretics^ to join in their family prayers, or to read their reli- 
gious books f How many times f '^ * Another part of the same 
manual of prayer tells him in preparing for the confessional he 
must ask himself and be prepared to answer these questions : 
" Have you read Protestant Bibles, tracts or other books on mat- 
ters of religion, circulated by heretics ? Have you kept them in 
your house, or sold them, or given them to others to read ? How 
many times ? Have you joined in the worship of heretics either 
in public or in private? Have you gone to their worship? Have 
you listened to their preaching ? How often ? " f And this, the 
" Mission Book " calls a sin against the first command : " Thou 
shalt have no other Gods before me." Again, in the same book, 
page 261, ''■ It is said to be a sin to join in the worship of heretics 
or schismatics, or to be present at their meetings or preachings. 
Yes, it is a sin to countenance their doctrines or their worship in 
any way.'^ ^^ The Garden of the Soul,'' under the first command- 
ment, proposes these questions to the penitent in view of the con- 
fessional : X " Have you by word or deed denied your religion, 
or gone to places of false worship ( Protestant), so as to join in any 
way in the worship ? How often?" It places along with this 
sin under the same commandment, idolatry, witchcraft, blasphemy, 
and other enormities, as if joining in Protestant worship was their 

♦"Mission Book," p. 319. N. Y., 1866. f Id., p. 304 5. 
t " The Garden of the Soul," p. 194. London. 



366 CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANT WORSHIP AND WRITINGS. 

equal. Now here is the secret of the good-natured Irishman's 
wrath, of hi.s refusal to take your tracts, or to go occasionally to 
your church. He dare not He would have to confess it, and do 
penance for it before his next communion ; or be guilty of a 
"sacrilegious confession or communion by concealing some mortal 
sin on confession, or what he doubted might be mortal.'^ * In all 
probability he might have to dine without flesh for a week, while 
compelled to work hard to earn bread for his children, or suffer 
something else equally unpleasant for such favor shown to heresy. 
In his mind Protestant tract and Bible reading are associated with 
pain ; Protestant family worship with labor on an unsatisfied 
stomach ; and attendance at a Protestant church with priestly wrath 
in the confessional. 

We have sat on the old wall of an ancient city, not far from 
the boundaries of two kingdoms, around which fierce conflicts 
raged at intervals for several centuries ; and once for two hours 
we watched a convent, below and outside the bulwarks which we 
occupied. A lofty wall around the convent kept off much of the 
pure air and bright sunbeams, and all human intruders ; the win- 
dows were small, to keep men out, or the sun ; they had iron bars 
to keep the nuns in, or their enemies from disturbing them ; no 
nun in the yard must look at the worldly people on the wall, lest 
some portion of the inflammable material in her heart might be 
set on fire by seeing the freedom women outside enjoyed ; or by 
the splendid looks of handsome men. The inmates of that prison 
never came out of their bastile, though from visible precautions it 
was clearly not a happy home to them all. A near relative could 
speak to a nun through a pigeon-hole, with a wall between, and 
watchful eyes and ears attentively observing the parties to the 
interview. That was a place of safe keeping provided for those 
who needed to be guarded against themselves and the world. 

The " Holy Church '^ places the restraints of a moral convent 
around all her children. She rears high moral walls around them, to 
keep out the blasts of liberty, of Protestant free inquiry ; they must 
enjoy the light of the Sun of Eighteousness, not by walking abroad 
and bathing without restraint in its blessed oceans, but through the 

* " The Garden of the Soul," p. 195. London. 



PROTESTANT WORSHIP AND WRITINGS. 367 

little barred and cob webbed windows of her system of apostasy ; 
like the nun of downcast eye, they must not even look at Protes- 
tant worship ; and if they speak a word with the tract distributor 
or the donor of Bibles, it must be through a pigeon-hole in the 
thick wall of superstition with the priest standing by, with an ear 
trumpet in one hand, called the " confessional,^^ listening to all that is 
said, and a club in the other, called " penance,^ ^ ready to bruise and 
blacken without mercy if he deems its use expedient. There is not 
so much cause for astonishment in the surly look and answer of 
the good-natured Romanist when Protestantism claims his atten- 
tion. 



THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND PUBLIC EDUCATION. 

In a republic like our own, the education of the people is a 
great public necessity. Intelligence will not change a heart 
naturally wicked, but it qualifies a man to judge for himself, and 
renders it impossible for him so easily to be made the dupe of 
agitators political or sacerdotal. The ignorant march in masses 
at the command of a leader; and because he issues the order. 
The educated accept no leader but conscience, prejudice, or selfish- 
ness ; and generally the sceptres of these three potentates work with 
immeasurably greater success for the public good, than the schemes 
of such men as commonly control illiterate multitudes. A repub- 
lic or a liberal constitutional monarchy cannot be permanently 
founded among an ignorant people. As there is a necessary 
descent for the ball thrown into the air, down to the earth, so a 
}>eople blessed with liberty and plagued with ignorance, will 
gradually perhaps, but surely, sink until they reach some crushing 
tyranny wearing its own name, or a designation peculiar to liberty. 
Every country with political institutions in any measure like 
our own, can only shield its cherished and blood-bought rights, 
its heaven-given blessings of freedom, by the widest diffusion 
of light. As flowers receive their beautiful colors - from~ the 
sun and turn to the King of day if twisted from him, so the 
institutions of liberty are fashioned and painted by the sun of 
intelligence, and wither when robbed of its blessed light. 

For Centuries the Church of Rome has been the enemy of 

Education. 

In the countries exclusively Catholic, where Kome has had 
everything her own way, these facts are as clearly seen as the 
rivers, lakes, mountains, and cities of those lands. Mexico, with 
368 



THE KOMISH CHURCH AND EDUCATION.' 36 9 

an endless list of priests, rich endowments for the clergy, every 
facility for the Church to carry out her own plans, and with no 
Protestants to impede the progress of the priesthood in any chosen 
direction, is a fair intellectual specimen of the culture which 
Romanism aims to give. That land has dense clouds of ignorance 
brooding upon her people, like the volumes of darkness envelo})- 
ing the earth before the majestic Avords of the Everlasting were 
heard : '^ Let there be light." Spain, of illustrious memories, 
with her mighty kings, proud armies, vast fleets, invincible heroes, 
with her fertile lands, and the wealth of the Indies added to the 
vast resources of her own people : Spain, where the Church was 
mightier than the king ; where the Inquisition seized the loftiest 
and lowliest, and measured out punishments without stint, and 
without timidity ; where, for centuries, the Church sat an imperious 
queen, mistress of every Spaniard and of all that he had, ought 
to show the exact marks and monuments which the Church aimed 
to produce. And Spain bears the harvests the Church planted : 
and dense, accursed ignorance is one of these harvests. 

Three-fourths of the inhabitants of Ireland, for several hundred 
years, have been as much at the disposal of the Church of Rome 
as the people of the Eternal City in all religious and educational 
relations. There was not one earthly agency to hinder the instruc- 
tion of the whole Catholic population of the island. The people 
are heartily in favor of education, and have an unusual readiness 
to receive the light of the school-house. A century after that 
grand, old, evangelical missionary, St. Patrick, went to heaven, the 
Irish were the best educated people in the west of Europe. But 
for ages their island home, unless where the Scotch have settled 
in Ulster, or in the large cities, has been given over to deplorable 
ignorance by the Catholic clergy. And that ignorance is all the 
more inexcusable, since the British Parliament votes annually a 
handsome grant for books and other school requisites, and for part 
of the teachers' salary, for every school in Ireland accepting its 
simple and non-sectarian conditions. 

Rome, of all the cities on earth, should exhibit the peculiar 

fruits of sacerdotal toils. Legions of priests and nuns have 

labored there for long centuries. Hundreds of popes, most of 

whom held a temporal sceptre, as well as the mighty sword of St. 

24 



370 THE ROMISH CHURCH AND EDUCATION. 

Peter, have made it their home. The wealth of the world has 
flowed into it, enabling its pontiffs to spend fifty millions of 
dollars on St. Peter's, and incredible amounts on other structures 
sacred and secular. In statuary, and in paintings, the bishops of 
Rome have showed a superb taste and a lavish hand. But w^hen 
you look for the education bestowed upon the Roman masses it is 
nowhere to be found. ^N^othing can be more distressing to the 
generous mind than the wretched ignorance of great numbers of 
those w^ho occupy the city, rendered famous by the eloquence of 
Cicero. Seymour says, that " He proposed to one of the Jesuit 
professors in the Collegio Romano, to secure any number of Bibles 
that the inhabitants of Rome could require.^' The professor told 
the truth about the intelligence of the masses of the people, when 
he replied : " The people of Rome are very ignorant — are in a 
state of brutal ignorance, are unable to read anything, and there- 
fore could not profit by reading the Scriptures, even if we supplied 
them gratuitously.^' * Then the Church of Rome is not friendly to 
the education of the people at large, or the Romans would not be 
so ignorant. 

Rome cherishes a deadly Hostility to Schools not completely under 

her own Care, 

This fact is attested by the experience of every country where 
her devotees are mixed with Protestants. The Church of Rome 
wants all educational efforts placed in her charge. 

In Naples, in December, 1849, by a decree of the Minister of 
Public Instruction, f " All students were placed under a commis- 
sion of ecclesiastics, and were obliged to enroll themselves in some 
religious congregation or society. All schools, public and private, 
were placed under the same arbitrary law. The schoolmasters were 
bound to take all their pupils above ten years of age to one of the 
congregations, and to make a monthly return of their attendance." 
AYilliam E. Gladstone, the present Prime Minister of England, 
describes a catechism taught in these schools in 1851, " as the most 
singular and detestable w^ork he had ever seen.' The doctrines of 
this catechism are, ' That all who hold liberal opinions will be lost ; 



* "Mornings among the Jesuits at Rome," p. 128. N. Y., 1849. 
] "The Papacy," by J. A. Wylie, p. 504. Edinburgh, 1852. 



THE ROMISH CHURCH AND EDUCATION. 371 

that kings may violate as many oaths as chey please in the cause of 
papal and monarchical absolutism; and that the Head of the 
Church has authority from God to release consciences from oaths, 
when he judges that there is suitable cause for it.' "* Now here 
is the Catholic idea of the relation of schools to the Church ; all 
students placed under a commission of ecclesiastics, and all schools, 
public and private ; and the entire scholars over ten years attend- 
ing the Catholic Church. Any other school system is defective 
and dangerous in the estimation of the popish hierarchy. 

In 1851, a concordat was ratified between Spain and the Holy 
See, the second article of which is : " All instruction in universi- 
ties, colleges, seminaries, and public and private schools, shall he 
conformable to Catholic doctf-inCj and no impediment shall be put 
in the way of the bishops, etc., whose duty it is to watch over 
the purity of doctrine and of manners, and over the religious edu- 
cation of youth, even in the 'public schools.'^ f That is the univer- 
sal aim of the Komish clergy. They desire, if possible, to have 
supreme authority over the public schools of all lands, and failing 
in that they are 

Bent on having Separate Schools where their Religion wilt he taught 
to Catholic Youth, 

This determination is strongly expressed in the spacious school 
building adjoining every Catholic church in our large cities ; a 
structure erected at great expense by a comparatively poor peo- 
ple, and conducted with vast labor and constant outlay. And we 
are confident that these Catholic schools are supplied with children 
unwillingly by parents. They know that the public schools are 
immeasurably superior in order, in the higher attainments, or bet- 
ter method of imparting instruction possessed by the teachers ; and 
in everything characteristic of "a good school. Not a few Catholics 
take a great interest in our public schools, and serve sometiQies 
with evident satisfaction and ability, in boards having charge of 
their management. But the clergy, from the highest to the lowest, 

* Two letters to the Earl of Aberdeen, on the State Prosecutions of the 
Neapolitan Government. London, 1851. 
t "The Papac3%" by J. A. Wylie, p. 116. Edinburgh, 1852. 



aiZ THE EOMISH CHURCH AND EDUCATION. 

look upon every school where they are not directors of the teacher, 
with alarm and hatred. 

Pius IX. condemns the present Austrian Constitution for permit- 
ting heretics to be buried in cemeteries where they have none of 
their own ; and " He considers it abominable {abominabilis) because 
it allows Protestants and Jews to erect educational institutions.^'"^ 
Pius and his priests think that they should have supreme autho- 
rity over the schools of all Christian countries. Many are under 
the impression that 

The Removal of the Bible from the Schools 

Would satisfy the priests, conciliate their people, and unite all in 
every community in sustaining our public schools. Never were 
men more deceived. There is not on record an instance of one 
Catholic child being converted by hearing the Bible read in the 
common school ; the priests are not afraid of it there. It is per- 
haps something of a slight to them, which, if nothing depended 
on it, they would rather than otherwise have removed ; but the 
Bible in the common school is a perfect " godsend '' to the clergy. It 
enables them to denounce the Avhole system ; to harp on the danger 
Catholic children risk from the Protestant Bible ; to appeal to 
their own people to sustain Catholic schools ; and to send out loud 
demands to all the unprincipled politicians of all parties to give 
them 

A FAIR DIVISION OF THE SCHOOL FUND. 

That is their aim. Take the Bible out of the schools, and then 
without any religion, they will denounce them as GODLESS 
SCHOOLS. When the English Government, in a fit of laudable 
generosity, established at great expense, and liberally endowed 
three colleges in Ireland, for the benefit of all creeds, without 
any religious instruction ; and placed in them a list of talented 
men as professors : though the Catholics were represented among 
the presidents and teachers of these institutions, Pius IX. de- 
nounced them as " Godless, and forbade every good Catholic, as 
he valued his salvation, to allow his child to enter them." f 

* " The Pope and Council," by Janus, p. 24, Boston, 1870. 
f " The Papacy," bv J. A. Wylie, p. 121. Edinburgh, 1853. 



THE ROMISH CHURCH AND EDUCATION. 373 

The " Mission Book " of prayer, in the preparation it directs 
for a ^^ General Confession/^ requires a parent to ask himself about 
his children : * " Have you sent them to heretic or godless schools^ 
to the danger of their faith f^^ The heretical schools are of 
course Protestant places of instruction. The " Godless Schools '' 
must be our public schools. The " Mission Book" Avas specially 
altered to suit this country ; and already the cry is raised in the 
confessional, that it is a sin to send your children to the GodlejiS 
Schools. 

As far as thinking men can discern, the priests in our country 
are determined to have a share of the educational funds of our 
States to support their schools already built, and to erect and sus- 
tain other separate schools. Everything looks in that direction. 
They want to build a wall around their youth to shut out the free 
breathings of American Protestant children ; they wish to stop 
their young ears against the inspirations of American liberty, 
floating from the lips of boys and girls. They are resolved, if 
their children must be instructed, that a " sister," unctuous with 
reverence for " Holy Church," and a " brother" of the " Christian 
Schools " devoted to the '^ Sacred Heart of Mary," shall give a 
limited education, and impart a wholesale stock of papal piety at 
the same time. 

Two Ecils spring from such a Course. 

The first is : The educational effort, if limited to the Catholic 
schools, will not generally succeed. Of course, we do not speak 
of the convent schools, got up especially to give a finished education, 
and the faith of the popes to Protestant young ladies, but of the 
parochial schools. Of one of these institutions Wylie says : " In 
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic School, Edinburgh, instances have 
been frequent of children four years there, and yet unable to put 
two letters together; and of others who had been at school for ten 
years, and could not read. The Jesuits build schools, and appoint 
teachers, not to educate, but to lock up youth in prisons, mis- 
called schools, as a pi^ecaution against their being educated.''^ f 

* "Mission Book," p. 316. N. Y., 1866. 

t " The Papacy." by J. A. Wylie, p. 438. Edinburgh. 1852. 



374 THE ROMISH CHURCH AND EDUCATIOli? 

Now, while this statement would be untrue, probably, of 
American Catholic schools, that is, in its full extent ; a large 
measure of the same charge it is believed might be justly level- 
led against Catholic parochial schools. The second evil is : a 
body of youths is raised up among us, and yet not of us ; a class 
of girls is brought up in our midst without having their sympa- 
thies linked to the great heart of Columbia. The men and women 
thus trained by foreign teachers, or native instructors with alien 
prejudices, in the dogmas of an Italian Church ; and taught to 
render unlimited obedience to a gj*eat priest in Rome ; led from 
childhood to regard their neighbors and their institutions as ene- 
mies of everything sacred to them, are excluded from the youthful 
and lasting friendships of American boys and girls ; and are fitted 
to be foreigners and unfeeling strangers in our social and national 
movements while their lives last. Every patriot should aim to 
knit his countrymen together ; and to this end he should exert 
himself to destroy all exclusive systems ; and especially all educa- 
tional efforts tending to the isolation of any portion of the young 
from the other parts of our juvenile population. And as the 
education of our public schools, next to the gospel, is the greatest 
protectress of our liberties, he should pray for the prosperity of our 
common schools; and never cast a vote or perform an act by 
which any portion of our educational funds should be given to 
any denomination ; or any part of our youthful population sepa- 
rated in their early struggles and training from the associates of their 
boyhood and girlhood. Let those who look on the same scenery, 
breathe the same atmosphere, and bask in the same bright beams, 
drink knowledge at the same fountain. 



SINS TAKEN AWAY BY GIFTS AND FAVORS. 

IS^OTHING seems more astonishing than that intelligent men who 
have any knowledge of the Christian religion should ever imagine 
that gifts of property or money could blot out guilt, and cancel 
the record of it from the books of the judgment day. And yet 
nothing on earth is more certain than that this doctrine for cen- 
turies governed the leading men of Catholic Europe. It erected 
the most spacious and magnificent churches in the world ; it founded 
and endowed hosts of tliose rich and grand old convents whose 
corpulent and lordly abbots, and idle throngs of unpopular monks 
invited covetous hands, and sanctioned general spoliation in some 
countries. To this doctrine the Church owed much of its power 
in the dark ages, much of that wealth which made her the owner 
of the fairest lands in Christendom, and not a few of those laws 
which gave her a towering supremacy over every corporation in 
the State and over the nation itself. A rich sinner in the olden 
time bought a priestly title to heaven by founding a monastery ; 
building a church; or by conferring some great favor on the 
clergy. And in the deed of gift he stipulated with scrupulous 
care that he made the donation : ^^for the remission of his sins.'' 
The pious devotee, Avishing a higher title to heavenly favor, fol- 
lowed in the same well-beaten path. The Church, through her 
most exalted national officials, accepted the grant, charter, eccle- 
siastical edifice, or bounty, with this solemnly expressed condition. 
Let any one take up the history of some old abbey, and examine 
its charters, deeds, bequests, and other recorded benefactions of 
value;, and he will find that almost every gift was bestowed, and 
every charter executed for the remission of the sins of the indivi- 
dual conferring the favor. The gates of heaven seemed open far 

all who would enrich the clergy and the Church 

375 



376 GIFTS AIs-D GEAXTS TAKE AWAY SINS. 

St. Eligius in the Seventh Century ^ 

A great man for that age, says : " He is a good Christian who 
comes often to church, and brings his gifts to be laid on the altar 
of God, who does not taste of his produce till he lias offered some 

of it to God Redeem your souls, says he, from punishment 

while you have the means in your power : — present oblations and 
tithes to the churches ; bring candles to the holy places, according 
to your wealth : — and come often to the churches, and beg suppli- 
antly for the intercession. — If ye do these things ye may come with 
confidence before the tribunal of the eternal God in the day of judg- 
ment and say : Give, Lord, for we have given.^^ "^ Such was the 
doctrine of the celebrated Bishop of Noyon in France, a great 
missionary, and founder of churches in Holland, Friesland, and 
Suabia 

Ethelbald, King of the Mercians, 

In A. D. 726, promulgated a statute, declaring all monasteries 
and churches free from public taxes, works, and burdens. And 
this he did, " In consideration of his love of the heavenly land, 
and for the redemption of his own soul, determined by good works 
to make it free from all the bonds of sin.^' f 

Offa, King of Ilercia, founds St. Albans Convent, 

In A. D. 794 he went to Rome and solicited from the supreme 
pontiff, Adrian, the canonization of Alban, and the pope's counsel 
about founding a monastery in his honor. To this Adrian replied: 
" My most beloved son Offa, most mighty King of the English, 
we exceedingly commend your devotion about the first martyr of 
your kingdom, and we gladly consent to your request to build a 
monastery and to endow it with privileges, enjoining you,/o?' the 
remission of your sins, that on your return home you shall, by the 
advice of your bishops and nobles, confer on the monastery of the 
blessed Alban whatever possessions or privileges you choose." J 
Monastery building, according to Pope Adrian, secured the remis- 
sion of sins. 

* Mosheim. p. 251. London, 1848. f Ingulph, at a. d. 726. 

X Matt, of Westminster at a. d. 794 



GIFTS AND GRANTS TAKE AWAY SINS. 377 

Bertidphy King of Mercia, gives a Charter to the Abbey of 

Croylandy 
In A. D. 851, in which he grants substantial gifts and favors to 
God and the blessed confessor St. Guthlac, '^ In behalf of the late 
King Wichtlaf, his brother and predecessor, and as a ransom for 
his own sins J '"^ 

Ethelwulf'\ King of the West Saxons j commands the performance 
of Charitable Deeds. 

In A. D. 856 he prepared a letter of instructions, or as we 
would say a will, directing that "Every tenth poor man in his he- 
reditary possessions, native or foreigner, for the benefit of his soul, 
should be supplied, by his successors, with meat, drink, and cloth- 
ing until the day of judgment; he commanded also three hundred 
mancuses to be carried to Home for the good of his soul; to be 
distributed in the following manner ; a hundred mancuses in 
honor of St. Peter, to buy oil for the lights of his church on 
Easter eve and at the cock crow ; a hundred in honor of St. Paul, 
for the same purpose, and a hundred for the universal, apostolic 
pontiff.'^ 

The same Ethelvoulf institutes Tithes. 

In A. D. 855, shortly after his return from Rome, Ethel wulf, 
King of the West Saxons, with the " Free consent of all his pre- 
lates and chief men, for the first time endowed the whole Church 
of England with the tenths of all lands and other goods or chat- 
tels.^^ And this he did, as he says : " For the forgiveness of my 
soul, and the remission of my sins.^' This unwise act was per- 
formed at Winchester in November 855, in the Church of St. 
Peter, before the great altar. All the archbishops and bishops in 
England were present and signed the document, thereby accepting 
it as a remedy to blot out Ethelwulf 's sins. Beorred, King of 
Mercia, Edmund, King of the East Angles, and a multitude of 
abbots, abbesses, dukes, earls, and others of the faithful, approved 
of the charter, and the dignitaries subscribed it.J That charter 

* Ingulph, at A. D. 851. f Asser's "Life of Alfred," at a. d. 85G. 

:j: Ingulph at a. d. 855. 



378 GIFTS AND GRANTS TAKE AWAY SINS. 

has been executed ever since, and has burdened Englishmen for 
more than a thousand years. If anything could make the Saviour, 
whose blood, unaided, cleanses from all sin, hesitate in his career 
of resistless mercy, it would be the execution of a law compelling 
posterity to give the "tenths of all lands and other goods or 
chattels " to any church under heaven, thereby exciting endless 
heartburnings against religion ; and indolence and arrogance among 
ministers of Jesus, independent of the love and confidence of their 
people. 

Beorred, King of Mercia, grants a Charter to Croyland, 
In A. D. 868, at the request of Earl Algar, Beorred confirms by 
charter all the lands bestowed on the monastery of Croyland, and 
its whole possessions and claims ; and he took this step as he de- 
clares " as an almsgift for my own soul, and for the remission of 
my transgressions.' ' * 

This charter was signed by Ceolnoth, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, confirmed by Elstan, Bishop of London, approved by Ed- 
mund, Bishop of Sherburn, commended by Alcwin, Bishop of 
Winchester; Hynebert, Bishop of Lichfield, signed it; Ethelbert, 
Bishop of Hereford, made his cross upon it; and besides these 
many others ecclesiastics and nobles subscribed the document. The 
whole Church in England, high and low, accepted Beorred's char- 
ter as a remedy for his sins. 

King Edred confers a Charter on Croyland. 
In A. D. 948, Edred, holding " the temporal government of 
Great Britain,^^ bestowed a very favorable charter on the Abbey 
of Croyland, of which his former minister Turketul was abbot : 
" The said gifts (in the charter),'^ he declares, " I have established 
and rendered lasting, to the praise of the Holy Trinity, and as a 
price of the ransom of my soul.-f '^ The two archbishops, and four 
bishops sanctioned and signed the instrument, thereby accepting 
the doctrine that such acts took away sin. 

King Edgar bestows a Charter on Medeshamsted. 
And in this document he enumerates many gifts and favors 

* lugulph, at A. D. 868. f Id., at a. d. 948. 



GIFTS AND GRANTS TAKE AWAY SINS. 379 

which he confers, and he does this, he says : '^ By the grace of St. 
Peter, and out of affection for so valued a father (Bishop Ethel- 
wold), and for the redemption of my soulJ^ * This charter was 
signed by all the leading ecclesiastics, including the two archbi- 
shops, showing their approval of its doctrine. 

William Rufus gives his Father^s Treasures away. 

When William the Conqueror died, he left in Winchester sixty 
thousand pounds of silver, besides gold, precious stones, and 
jewels in vast quantities. His son and successor distributed them 
in accordance with the will of his father, bestowing on the greater 
churches, over the land, ten marks, and upon the smaller churches 
five shillings ; and on each of the counties one hundred pounds 
for the relief of the poor. "And this he did on behalf of the soul 
of his father.''^ f 

Canute confirms the rights of Glastonbury. 

In A. D. 1031, Canute visited the church of Glastonbury, and 
at the request of Ethelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury, he con- 
firmed the privileges of that renowned abbey ; and this he did, as 
he says : " For the love of heaven, and the pardon of my sins, and 
the remission of the transgressions of my brother, King Edmund.^^ J 

William the Conqueror founds Two Monasteries. 

By the salutary warnings of Remigius, Bishop of Dorchester, 
the victor of Hastings builds two abbeys ^^for the atonement of his 
transgressions.^' 

King John deeds England and Ireland to the Pope. \\ 

In A. D. 1213, this act, which has never found a parallel in the 
doings of English sovereigns, was consummated ; and in the infa- 
mous document in which John transfers his dominions to Innocent 
III., he states that he offers, and freely grants to the pope, " The 
whole kingdom of England, and the kingdom of Ireland, with all 

* Ingulph, at A. D. 970. f Id., at a. d. 1091. 

X William of Malmesbury, book. ii. cap. ii. 

§ Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 1085. | Id., at A. D. 1313. 



380 GIFTS AXD GRANTS TAKE AWAY SINS. 

their rights and belongings for the remission of our sins, and those 
of our whole race (family) both living and deadJ^ * Such was the 
instrument, inspired, if not written by the pope, and ratified by 
him : showing that such a sacrifice could take away John's sins, 
in his distorted opinion. 

Henry III. makes good Laws, 

In A. D. 1236, this monarch, in a council at Merton, granted 
and established wholesome laws, and ordered them to be universally 
obeyed ; and this he did, " For the salvation of his own soul and that 
of his queenJ' f He founded a house for Jewish converts in 
London, '^ For the redemption of his own soul and that of his 

fatherJ't 

In Burmah, it is said, that there is no such thing as love prompt- 
ing an act. When relief is given to the poor, it is to obtain merit ; 
when offerings are made on the altars, a similar motive prompts it ; 
when supplications are made, the design is still the same. And it 
is asserted that a torrent of ridicule would greet the man who 
claimed to perform an act which seemed to be benevolent, from 
motives of pure compassion. So for ages in the Romish Church, 
while doubtless there were hosts of hearts full of pity, in acts for 
the public good, for charitable purposes, and for religious objects, 
the leading motive was precisely the one which governs the heathen 
followers of Gaudama : the creation of merit. It was for the 
" good of their souls, to secure the pardon of their sins.'' Promp- 
tings of this character bestowed the finest lands of Europe, stately 
ecclesiastical structures, and innumerable rich gifts on the Church ; 
and similar motives led to the enactment of beneficent laws, and 
to the bestowment of immense benefits upon individuals and com- 
munities. So that ignorance of Isaiah's idea, as the Vulgate has 
it : " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come up to the waters, and ye 
that have no money ; hasten, buy, and eat ; come, buy wine and 
milk without money, and without any return," conferred immense 
benefits occasionally on communities, and for centuries on ecclesi- 
astics. 

* Matt, of Westminster, at a. d. 1213. 
f Id., at A. D. 1236. 



SEYMOUR TAKES HIMSELF OUT OF PURGATORY. 381 

This Doctrine lives in the Modern Catholic Church. 
Says Gavin : " In all families (in Spain) whatsoever, if any one 
is dangerously sick, there are continually friars and priests waiting 
till the person dies, and troubling the chief of the family with 
petitions for masses for the soul of the deceased ; and if he is rich, 
the custom is to distribute among all the convents and parishes, 
one thousand or more masses, to be said the day of burial. When 
the Marquis of St. Martin died, his lady distributed a hundred 
thousand masses, for which she paid the very same day X5000, 
besides one thousand masses which she settled upon all the con- 
vents and parish churches, to be said each year forever.^^ Surely 
here it was the money of the defunct marquis, which, in the esti- 
mation of the living, was to redeem his soul from the hot atmo- 
sphere of purgatory. 

A Man in Rome buys his oion Soul out of Purgatory a few years 

since. 
The Rev. Mr. Seymour, when in the Eternal City, visited a 
church with a privileged altar ; where one mass brings a soul from 
purgatory forthwith. Mr. Seymour witnessed the sale of this 
mass himself " to a large number of persons in the Basilica of 
Santa Croce di Gerusalemme in Rome. Each person stated the 
name of his friend in purgatory, paid four pauls, about forty cents, 
and received an acknowledgment in writing.^^ He saw the same 
process at the Feast of the Assumption at Varallo in 1851 ; and 
he entered a bureau near the high altar of the principal church, 
and was received with marked politeness by the gentleman in 
charge of it, who opened a large account book, entered his name 
in it, and took his money ; he then handed him the book in which 
he was to write the name of the soul to be released ; there were 
twenty names just recorded in it, and to them Seymour added his 
own ! He obtained a receipt, of which the following is a transla- 
tion : 

"1851, Sept. Sth. THE SACRED MOUNT.* 

" I, the undersigned, agent of the venerable fabric of the Sacred 

* 1851, addi 8 Smbre, dal S. Monte. 
Ho ricevuto io sottoscritto assistente della veneranda Fabrica del Sacro 



382 GIFTS AND GRANTS SECURE PARDONS. 

Mount of A'^arallo, have received from Mr. Hobart Seymour the 
charity of one shilling and eight pence, for one mass to be cele- 
brated at the perpetually privileged daily altar of the most blessed 
Virgin Mary in Yarallo. 

" Jti Witness, Agno Bertolt." 

For forty cents a soul can be rescued from purgatory forthwith, 
by this system. Says Seymour : "^ " The murderer and his victim 
may be released from the sufferings of another world by a small 
sum in this, and where such a system prevails, it ceases to be a 
matter of surprise that crime should abound in all its most dark 
and terrible features.'^ 

The Mission Booh has substantially the same Doctrine. 

It says : f " There is also an indulgence of one hundred days for 
every time we lodge a poor person, or give him alms in his necessity, 
or perform some other work of mercy All these indul- 
gences are applicable to the souls in purgatory." Gifts bribe God 
for his favor. 

The Council of Trent teaches this Doctrine. 

One of its leading canons reads : 

" If any one shall say that the satisfactions by which penitents 
redeem their sins through Jesus Christ, are not the worship of 
God, but traditions of men, obscuring the doctrine of grace, and 
the true worship of God, and the benefit itself of the death of 
Christ ; let him be accursed.'^ J 



Monte di Varallo dal Sigiior Hobart Seymour Telemosina di lire, 2 : 7. di 
Mil. per Messe unada celebrarsi all' altare privilegiato qnotidiano perpetno 
della Beattissima Vergine Maria, — In fede : Agno Bertoli, — " Evenings with 
the Romanists,'' pp. 28, 29, 30. K Y., 1856. 

* Seymour's " Evenings with the Komanists," p. 30. N. Y., 1850. 

f " Mission Book," p. 190. K Y., 1866. 

X Si quis dixerit, satisfaction es, quibus poenitentes per Christum Jesum 
peccata rediraunt, non esse cultus Dei, sed traditionos hominum, doctrinam 
de gratia, et verum Dei cultum, atque ipsum beneficium mortis Christi ob- 
scurantes ; anathema sit. — Canones et Decreta Gone. Trid., sess. xiv., can, 
U, p. 84. Lipsise, 1863. 



MASSES FOR THE DEAD. 383 

No matter whether the satisfactions are sufferings, meritorious 
prayers, or purchased masses, the great fact is asserted by the 
Council of Trent, that "Penitents can redeem their sins through 
Jesus Christ/^ not that he has bought them ; but that they, through 
payments or pains, can redeem their iniquities themselves. 

The Priests must have a 'proper Price for their Masses, or one 
Mass must stand for a Number. 

There was a serious difficulty in the times of the Council of 
Trent ; many pious persons, as religion was then understood, re- 
quested masses in the most solemn manner from the clergy of par- 
ticular churches, where they had been accustomed, when living, to 
worship God, and in their last testament, they had left a sum of 
money to be paid annually for these sacrifices ; but the amount 
was small, and the priests could not afford to bring souls out of 
purgatory unthout a proper hire, and it was impossible, in many 
cases, to procure the services of these unwedded priests, whose ex- 
penses need not be great. In cases of this class, the ecclesiastical 
authorities were authorized to make a compromise, most probably 
permitting one mass to be offered up for ten^ twenty, or more ; so 
that all the dead would be remembered, and the priest not be over- 
taxed. No other interpretation can be put on the following decree 
of authoritative Trent : '^ 

" It happens frequently in certain churches, either that so great 
a number of masses is required to be celebrated by various legacies 
left by the departed, that it is impossible to give satisfaction thereto 
on the special days aj^pointed l)y the testators, or that such alms 
left for celebrating the masses are so slender that it is not easy to 
find any one who wishes to subject himself to that duty ; whereby the 
pious intentions of testators are frustrated, and occasion is given for 
burthening the consciences of those vjhom the aforesaid obligations 



* Contlngit sgepe in quibnsdam ecclesiis vel tarn magnum missarum cele- 
brandarnra numerum ex variis defanctorum relictis impositnm esse, lit illis 
pro singulis diebus a lestatoribus proescriptis nequeat satistieri, vel eleemo- 
synam bujusmodi pro illis celebrandis adeo tenuem esse, ut non facile inve- 
niatur, qui velit huic se muneri snbjicere ; unde deperennt pi?e tes^antium 
voluntates, et eorum conscientias, ad quos praedicta spectant, oiierandi oc- 



384 ONE MASS OFFERED INSTEAD OF SEVERAL. 

concern. The holy synod, desiring that these bequests for pious 
uses should be satisfied in the most complete and useful way pos- 
sible, gives authority to bishops in diocesan synod, and likewise to 
abbots and generals of orders, that in their general chapters they 
shall ordain in regard to this matter, whatsoever in their consciences 
they shall, upon a diligent examination of the circumstances, ascer- 
tain to be most expedient for God's honor and loorship, and. the good 
of the churches, in those churches aforesaid, which they shall find to 
stand in need of such provision ; in such wise, however, that a com- 
memoration be always made of the departed, who, for the welfare of 
their souls, have left the said bequests for pious uses." The Coun- 
cil does not command the bishops and abbots to order their avari- 
cious priests to offer up a mass for every one who has left a legacy, 
however small, for that purpose, as it ought to have done. That 
was what the deceased in his life wanted. No, the bishops in 
their synods, and the abbots in their chapters, are to make some 
different provision for such cases ; and as all the dead testators are 
to be commemorated in a mass, and that not a separate one for 
each, it is one for all ; or, at least, a few masses to represent all. 
Money, according to the Council of Trent, brings souls out of pur- 
gatory, or it keeps them in it. When the prices of masses are 
slender, none w^ill be offered up, unless a heap of masses can be 
discharged b}^ one ; and the small prices of many form a handsome 
reward for a solitary mass. That all Catholic priests are of the 
class recognized in this decree as despising the masses with 
" slender '' wao^es, we do not believe. Bat the council recoo^nizes 
the fact that masses are to be paid for, and that there may be few 
oblations when they are not appreciated at a respectable pecuniary 
value. 



casio datur. Sancta Synodns, cnpiens hsec ad pios usiis relicta, quo plenius 
et utilins potest, iaipleri, facultatem dat episcopls, ut in Synodo dioecesana, 
itemqne abbatibus et generalibus ordinum, ut in suis capitulis generalibus re 
diligenter perspecta possint pro sua conscientia in prsedictis ecclesiis, quas 
hsec provisione indigere cognoverint, statuere circa lijiec quicquid niagis ad 
Dei honorem et cultum atque ecclesiarum utilitatem viderint expedire ; ita 
tamem, ut eorum semper defunctorum commemoratio fiat, qui pro suarum 
aniraarum salute legata ea ad pios usus reliquerunt. — Canones et Decreta 
Gone. Trid.^ sess. xxv., de Beformatione^ cap. iv. p. 191. Lipsise, 1863. 



ONE MASS WITH THE EFFICACY OF A HUNDKED. 385 

Gavin speaks of a grant given by the pope to some friars in his 
country, by which one mass is said instead of a hundred, and this 
one is " equivalent to a hundred masses." * Fifty-two masses 
celebrated in the year Avould count for 5200, and these sold at a 
price equal to twenty-eight cents each, if they could be all disposed 
of, would bring some fifteen hundred dollars ; so that each friar, 
if he only celebrated one mass every week, and obtained the ordi- 
nary price paid for it in Spain, could live most comfortably. But 
all this is salvation by money, when God, in the Vulgate, says : f 
" The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from every 



* "Master Key to Popery," p. 129. Cincinnati, 1833. 
f Sanguis Jesu Christi, filii ejus, emundatnos ab omni peccato. — 1 John i. 7. 
25 



NO SALVATION FOR PROTESTANTS. 

The admission into heaven of a soul is of unspeakable import- 
ance, the pledging of which to an unsaved man, or the denial of 
which to a regenerated child of Jesus, is exceedingly wicked. 

The Church of Rome Consigns to Perdition all v;ho reject 

Her Faith, 

The bull " In Coena Domini '' is one of the most notorious docu- 
ments ever issued by the pontiffs ; it has been ratified, confirmed, 
or enlarged by more than twenty popes, whose names and constitu- 
tions are prefixed to the bull itself; it has been published for ages 
in the Eternal City every Maunday-Thursday. * One section of 
this document reads: f "We do, on the part of Almighty God, 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and also by the authority of the 
blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and by our own, excommunicate 
and curse all Hussites, WicUffites, Lutherans, Zwinglians, Cal- 
vinists. Huguenots, Anabaptists, Trinitarians, and Apostates from 
the -faith of Christ, and all and sundry other heretics, by whaUo- 

* Bower's " History of the Popes," vol. iii. p. 484. Philada.^ 1845.- 
t Excommiiiiicamus et anathematizamus ex parte Dei omnipotentis, Patris, 
etFilii et Spiritns Sancti, auctoritate quoque B. Apost. Petri et Paiili, ac nostra, 
quosciinque Hussitas, Wicklepliistas, Luteranos, Zuinglianos, Calvinistas, 
Ugonottas, Anabaptistas, Trinitarios, et a Christi fide Apostatas, ac omnes et 
singulos alios haereticos, quocunque nomine censeantur, et cujuscunque 
^ect8e existant ; ac eis credentes eorumque receptatores, fautores, et genera- 
liter quoslibet illorum defensores ; ac eorumdem libros liserisin continentes, 
vel de religione tractantes sine auctoritate nostra et sedis Apostolicse scienter 
legentes aut retinentes, imprimentes, sen qnomodolibet defendentes. — Con- 
stitutio PauU V., 63., Perceval on the Roman Schism, Introductini, p. 37. 
London, 1836. 

386 



NO SALVATION FOR PROTESTANTS. 387 

ever name they may he reckoned, and of whatever sect they may 
hs; and those who believe in them, and their receivers, abettors, and 
in general, all their defenders whatsoever ; and those who without our 
authority and that of the Apostolic See knowingly read, or retain, 
or pr-int, or in any way defend the books containing their heresy, 
or treating of religion.''^ In this instrument the popes curse every 
denomination of Protestants, and every individual who declines to 
obey the bishops of Rome ; or wlio aids non-Catholics in any man- 
ner; or who, without papal authority, knowingly reads, or re- 
tains a Protestant book, or prints it. The curse and excom- 
munication involve and mean the damnation of the soul in its 
severest pains. 

The creed of Pope Pius IV. must be received by every Catholic 
bishop; it is the standard of orthodoxy in the Church of Pome. 
This creed makes those who recite it say : * ^^ I, N. N., at this pre- 
sent, freely profess, and sincerely hold tliis true Catholic faith, 
without which no one can. be saved.^^ This is the creed and oath 
to-day of the clergy of the entire Romish sect. We do not brand 
them with infamy, for such an atrocious conviction ; we simply 
present it as an unquestionable })art of papal doctrine. 

In Protestant denominations men generally think that each true 
believer on the Son of God in the papal or in Rome-rejecting com- 
munities will surely be saved ; that wherever God discovers faith, 
that soul will be found in heaven. Nor do we hesitate to express 
our conviction that the Infallible Church has some of the elect of 
God among her numerous progeny. But that Church consigns us 
all to damnation in due and solemn form. 

No doubt there are many Catholics who reject this atrocious 
dogma. We have met some of them ourselves : men and women 
of large hearts and noble impulses. There are priests, too, who 
secretly hold a generous confidence in the existence of salvation 
outside the limits of their sect. But, as a Church, Rome curses and, 
consigns to damnation the whole Protestant world. The good and 
great Bishop Hall says : f " The Protestant or Evangelical churches 

* Hanc veram catliolicam ficlem, extra qnam nemo salvus esse potest, 
qiiam in pra^senti sponte profiteer et veraciter teneo, — Bulla Super Forma 
Juram. Profess Fid., p. 228., Ganones et Deer eta Cone. Trid. 

t ' Practical Works," vol. ii. pp. 51-2. London, 1808. 



6bS BISHOP HALL ON CATHOLIC INTOLEEANCE, 

of our European world do justly cry out of the high injustice of 
Kome in excluding them from the communion of the truly Catholic 
Church of Christ. What presumptuous violence is this ! What 
a proud uncharitableness ! They have both gone from themselves 
and abandoned us ; had they continued what they once were, 
they had been ours, we had been theirs; and both had been 
Christ's:' 



THE MASS IN LATIN; 

THE WORD "LATIN" IN THE GREEK TONGUE CONTAINS THE 
NUMBER OF THE BEAST 

John tells us of a ferocious beast, or antichristian system, that 
should make war upon the saints of God, and overcome them ; 
that should perform great wonders ; that should exercise dominion 
over all kindreds, tongues and nations, and receive worship from 
all that dwell upon the earth whose names are not written in 
the book of life, and that should deceive by his pretended 
miracles. 

The number of the beast is given by John, Rev. xiii. 18. 
Ireneus, commenting on the n amber six hundred and sixty-six 
says : "As matters are thus, and the number is found in all the 
genuine and ancient copies, and as they who saw John attest, 
reason itself shows that the number of the name of the beast is 
indicated by the Greek letters Avhich it contains ; " and he then shows 

^ 30 1 300 5 10 50 70 200 

that the requisite number is found in Kat ^ v v o $ (Lateinos);* 
and he fixes upon this name because the Latin government was 
destined, as he supposed, to be the last of all. Ireneus lived very 
near John's time, and made a remarkable guess. It was natural 
to suppose that the Greek tongue should be selected to find the 
numeral letters, for John wrote in it, and so did Roman authors in 
his day, and Ireneus himself used it. Eusebius alludes to this 
exposition of the number of the beast by Ireneus, showing that 
the saying attributed to him is authentic, and that it excited gene- 
■ ral interest in the fourth century. f 

* Ireneus, adv. Hasret., lib. v, cap. xxx. 
f Eusebius, lib. v. cap. viii. 

389 



390 THE LATIN LANGUAGE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

It is a singular circumstance, in connection with the word Latin, 
or Lateinos, that though from thirty to seventy nations are said to 
have been represented in the Vatican Council of 1870, the discus- 
sions, speeches, and canons and decrees of that assembly were all 
in the Latin language. 

It is also a notable fact that Pope Vitalian was the first to ordain 
that public worship should be celebrated in the Latin tongue, in the 
year six hundred and sixty-six, the year with the same number as 
the beast. "^ 

The principal service of the Catholic Church is the mass ; every 
other part of her worship is a mere ornament or appendage of 
that imaginary sacrifice, and throughout the- world THE 
MASS MUST BE CELEBRATED m LATIN. The 
Council of Trent declares that, ^^ although the mass contains 
much instruction for the faithful, yet it does not seem expedient 
to the fathers that it should be performed everywhere in the 
vulgar tongue.'^ f And in all lands the great oblation of Home 
is offered up in the language of Horace and Yirgil, of Cicero 
and Sallust. 

The " Latin Church '^ is one of the proper names of the mighty 
])apal sect, just as the " Greek Church ^' describes a great Eastern 
ienomination. This is an extraordinary name in view of John's 
6east with his number. And yet it is one of the common desig- 
nations of the Catholic world. 

The whole public documents of the popes ; and of the Eoman 
court, intended for the ecclesiastical authorities of all lands, have 
been written in Latin from the earliest times ; and are still com- 
municated in the same grand old tongue. The Word of God, in 
the original Hebrew and Greek languages, was open to the popes. 
And yet, strange to say, the Council of Trent, passing the original 
Scriptures by, gave its solemn approval to the Vulgate Bible, a 
version in the Latin tongue. And from that time, the revision 
and translation of the Monk Jerome has been the only Bible of 

* " Rise and Fall of the Papacy," by Fleming, p. 10. Philada., 1860. 

I Etsi missa magnam contineat populi fidelis eruditionern, non tamen 
expedire visum est patribus, ut vulgari passim lingua celebraretur. — 
Canoneft ei Decreta. Cone. Trid., aess. xxn., 8acr. Mis., cap. viii. p. 120. 
Lipsise, 1863. 



THE LATIN LANGUAGE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 391 

the Catholics. If in any land there is a Romish translation, it 
is from the Latin Vulgate, not from the inspired Greek and 
Hebrew. 

In view of these very remarkable facts, it seems morally 
certain that the Latin papacy is the beast of John which 
should perform prodigies of iniquitous deeds against God and his 
saints. 



THE SINCERITY OF CATHOLIC PRIESTS. 

Amoi^g Protestants there is a universal conviction that Romish 
priests are too well educated to believe in transubstantiation ; the 
legendary stories of the saints, the fires of purgatory; and the 
delusive powers which they claim to exercise in absolving men 
from their sins. Perhaps no impression in the world is more firmly 
rooted than this. And among the masses who reject the Church 
of the Dark Ages, this opinion is as surely true as a text of Scrip- 
ture. ]^o doctrine could be more baseless. It would be impossi- 
ble for an intelligent Protestant j who understands his Bible, to 
receive the monstrous dogma of transubstantiation, and similar 
papal dreams and follies. But the priest had not a Protestant 
education ; did not know his Bible ; and did not exercise his in- 
telligence. Commonly, he has been brought up from childhood to 
believe everything the Church of Rome teaches ; to regard it as 
exceedingly wicked to doubt anything for which she demands 
faith ; and to suppress every exercise of his judgment adverse to 
the Holy Mother. He has been nurtured on miracles, super- 
natural appearances, and lying wonders from his first conscious 
moments. These have been communicated to him by the lips of 
a loving mother, who assured him of their truth, or. of some 
revered priest who came from the presence of God when he stated 
them ; and they were believed by all the kindred and associates 
of the future priest. In childhood he is assured that Protestants 
sprung from a rebellious German monk who had many interviews 
with the devil ; and a licentious English King, who wanted, in 
spite of the holy father, to disgrace and remove his good wife, and 
elevate his low-born mistress to her place ; that their worship is 
iniquity, and that they shall all be damned. He grows up to 
regard them, their books, and their religion with horror; and as 
392 






EARNESTNESS OF PRIESTS. 393 

he knows little, if anything, about their pure Christ-honoring 
doctrines, there is not much ground for surprise that he clings to 
the creed of childhood. 

In the sacerdotal education of a priest he is brought in contact 
with nothing Protestant ; nothing to shake his faith in the con- 
victions of early days. When he reaches eighty years, his opin- 
ions are but the teachings of his mother, and his first spiritual 
director. He never examined any other creed. 

Why would her priests remain in the Church of Rome if they 
were hypocrites? Threatenings might keep the timid in their 
old places, but they could not keep all. There is nothing so very 
attractive in the home of a priest, with no virtuous wife, no lov- 
ing children, and no real friend; in the confessional where he 
becomes the pool into which a thousand streams of filth and 
horror run ; nor in his daily life, in which he is the mark for , 
Protestant dislike, and, unless times are changed, for some Catho- 
lic suspicion. If he does not believe his doctrines, why does he 
not come out and follow some worldly calling? Protestant 
clergymen frequently give up the ministry ; Catholic priests 
hardly ever turn away into secular life. The priests of Roman- 
ism are full of earnestness as a class. They have their hypocrites, 
as all systems have. But the trouble is, there are far too many of 
them full of zeal for their Church. Are not these priests planning 
and building churches, seminaries, convents, schools and orphans' 
homes all over the land ? It is not the Catholic laity who are in 
the van of these enterprises, but the clergy ; and at this moment 
they are moving every energy, and working with untiring zeal in 
our own and other countries, to build and prop the tottering 
walls of the papacy. 

Luther ivished his Parents Dead while he was in Rome, that he 
might offer up Masses there for them. 

As he went up and down the Eternal City a delighted pilgrim, 
believing all the fables he heard, visiting all the famous churches, 
gathering rich treasures of merit from his devout exercises and holy 
deeds, and very happy in his fresh stock of spiritual wealth, he 
learned how easily he could take souls out of purgatory by masses 
said in particular places in Rome. He loved his parents ; he was 



394 EAENESTNESS OF PEIESTS. 

ardently attached to his mother : " Oh, how I could like to make 
my mother happy ! '' said he. And yet soon after he said : " How 
much I regret that my father and mother are still alive. What 
delight I should have in delivering them from the fire of purga- 
tory, by my masses, my prayers, and many other admirable 
works ! " At the fountain head of priestly power he felt that he 
had an opportunity to relieve his father and mother from the 
pains of purgatory which might never return ; and he wished his 
loving parents in their long home, that he might send them imme- 
diately to Paradise. How intensely earnest Luther was ! And 
what reason have we to suppose that priests to-day, moulded and 
nurtured under the same influences, are less conscientious ? * 

A Ifodern Mirade. 

While Seymour, a few years ago, was conversmg with some 
Jesuits at Rome, he tried to prove the unreliability of Catholic 
miracles by relating the case of a priest who took a whole tribe of 
Indians to one of our western rivers, and there, without any in- 
struction, baptized them ; after which he suspended a little cross 
around the neck of each by a string, and informing them that 
they were now Christians, he left them. The missionary priest 
was at Rome on a visit when Seymour was there, and had in- 
formed his Jesuit friend himself of the Indian conversion. Two 
years after the baptism of the natives the priest visited them 
again, aud was greatly surprised to find that none of them had 
any sins to confess. There was not a single sin committed by 
one in the tribe since his baptism ; it was a miracle the Jesuit 
insisted. While the priest was administering the communion to 
these Indians, one of them was too far off for the priest to put 
the host into his mouth, but Jie was kneeling with devout awe, 
and as the priest was observing him, ^^ The host flew out of his 
fingers, flew over to the poor Indian, and flew into his mouth.''^ 
"Oh!" the Jesuit added, in a tone of the most reverential devo- 
tion, "the blessed Jesus so loved that poor savage, that he longed 
to enter into his heart, and thus miraculously flew into his 
mouth.'^ Seymour says : " There was a fervor, an earnestness, a 

* D'Aubigne, vol. i. p. 143. Glasgow, 1846. 



EARNESTNESS OP PRIESTS. 395 

devotion of manner that showed he fully believed what he thus 
narrated. The personal character of the man was such that I 
had no right to doubt him after so solemn a statement.'^ 

There is far less scepticism among Catholics where the Church 
still retains her hold than among Protestants. The Protestant 
reasons, hears, or reads both sides, discriminates. The good 
Catholic receives everything from his Church without scruple, 
and he believes it. 

Catholic priests as a body are intensely earnest ; are just as 
conscientious as ourselves ; some of them doubtless, like Luther, 
before his avowal of Protestantism, or Staupitz, are converted 
men, but the majority rest on another gospel than Christ's, and 
are honestly bent on making this Continent their own. Let us 
treat them as sincere men, and not as hypocrites ; and let us not 
forget that their unquestionable love for their principles gives 
them immense power, and calls upon us to put on the whole 
armor of Christ, that this goodly land may be ImmanueFs, not 
the pope's. 



HYMNS, AND THOSE WHO COMPOSED THEM. 

In the ancient churches psalmody was quite as prominent as it 
is in the worship of Christ now ; the praises and gratitude of the 
devout worshipper reached heaven in holy melodies sung with 
fervor and rapture. 

Sometimes the psalm was sung by one person alone, the others 
only giving their attention ; and sometimes by the whole assembly 
together ; sometimes the congregation was divided into two choirs, 
one half singing one verse, and the other the next ; sometimes one 
person sung the first part of the verse, and all the people united 
their voices at its close. The ancient and general practice of the 
churches was for the whole people, men, women, and children, as 
if with one mouth and one mind, to sing the praises of God.* 
Christ and his apostles united in singing the hymn at the last 
supper ; and, according to Chrysostom, the first churches followed 
this example : ^^ Women and men,^^ says he, ^^ old men and children, 
differ in sex and age, but they differ not in the harmony of singing 
hymns, for the spirit tempers all their voices together, making one 
melody of them all." f 

The voice in singing was employed in two distinct styles ; in 
the first it received a gentle inflection, an agreeable turn with a 
proper accent, not differing much from reading, like the musical 
way of reading psalms in cathedral churches. This was the 
Alexandrian mode in the time of Athanasius, and the prevailing 
custom in Africa in the days of Augustine ; the other system con- 
formed to art, had a variety of notes for greater sweetness, gave 
forth the richest melody, and melted into tears, or elevated to 

* Bingham's "Antiquities," book xiv. chap. i. sec. 9. 
f Chrysostom, on Psalm cxliv. 
396 



I 



HYMNS. 397 

heaven, those who shared in the enjoyment of this delightful 
service.* 

Singing was extensively used in worship. When the church 
of St. Ambrose was beset with Arian soldiers, the people inside 
sung psalms the whole night and day.f Psalmody was the exer- 
cise of the congregation at all times when no other service occu- 
pied them ; no occasion was regarded as unseasonable to sing holy 
psalms and hymns in the church, except daring Scripture reading, 
preaching, or praying. Monks in their devotions, plowmen in 
the fields, and the Church in all her services gloried in the abound- 
ing use of hymns. Even at funerals this custom was prominent. 
Jerome, speaking of such an occasion, says that " the people made 
the gilded roof of the temple shake and echo again with their 
psalms and hallelujahs." J 

Singers did not in early times make religion? the chief end of 
their melodies. Sometimes the men who conducted church music 
took their modes of singing from the practice of the theatre,§ 
introducing the corruptions and effeminacy of profane music into 
the solemn devotions of the sanctuary. 

In condemnation of this custom Jerome says : " Let young men 
who sing in the church, sing, not with their voice but with their 
heart to the Lord ; not like tragedians physically preparing their 
throat and mouth, that they may sing after the fashion of the 
theatre in the Church."T[ Chrysostom, Augustine, and other fathers 
urge the same objection against the theatrical music of some 
religious assemblies and singers in their day. 

Hymns, 

In the latter end of the second century a defender of the Saviour's 
divinity, quoted by Eusebius, attacked Artemon's heresy, and 
among other things urged by him to prove its falsehood, he says, 
" Whatever psalms and hymns were written by the brethren from 
the beginning celebrate Christ the word of God, by asserting his 

* Bingham's "Antiquities," book xiv. chap. i. sees. 15, 16. 

t Ambrose, Ep. 33, ad Marcellinam Sororem. 

X Hieron., Ep. 30, Epitaph Fabiolse. 

§ Bingliam's "Antiquities," book xiv. chap. i. sec. 18. 

Tf Hieron., in Ephes. v. 



398 HYMNS. 

divinity." From the first age of the Gospel the brethren had 
human compositions in praise of Jesus as God. * 

In A. D. 270 the Council of Antioch complained of Paul of 
Samosata, the heterodox Bishop of Antioch, that he stopped " the 
psalms that were sung in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ as the 
late compositions of modern men, but in honor of himself he had 
prepared women to sing at the great festival in the midst of the 
church." t From this statement it is again affirmed that unin- 
spired hymns and psalms in honor of Jesus were in use in the 
churches at a very early day. 

In the beginning of the second century, the celebrated Pliny, in 
giving the Emperor Trajan an account of the Christians, says : 
" They were accustomed to meet on a certain day before it was 
light and sing a hymn alternately to Christ as God." J This 
hymn could not be one of David\s Psalms, as they are not 
addressed to ^' Christ as God." It is undeniable that in the in- 
fancy of the Church, as Cave says : ^^ It was usual for any persons 
to compose divine songs in honor of Christ, and to sing them in 
the public assemblies." § These compositions were commonly 
fragments of Scripture, with slight additions. 

The Doxology was the first Hymn. 

In its most ancient form it read : ^^ Glory be to the Father, and 
to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, w^orld without end. Amen." 
The words, " As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall 
be," were added somewhat later than the first use of the song. 
The followers of Arius would only sing the doxology thus : 
^' Glory be to the Father, by the Son, and by the Holy Spirit." 
It was used at the end of nearly every portion of public worship. 
Another change in its words occurred not long after the first en- 
largement, then it read : ^' To Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be 
all glory, worship, thanksgiving, honor, and adoration, now and 
forever, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." || An- 
other very ancient hymn is called ^^ The Angelical Hymn, or Great 

* Euseblus, lib. v. cap. xxviii. f Id., lib. vii. cap. xxx. % Pliiiyi lib. x. ep. 97. 
§ Cave's "Primitive Christianity," p. 134. Oxford, 1840. 
II Bingham's "Antiquities," book xiv. chap. ii. sec. 1. 



HYMNS. 399 

Doxology." It was based on the words of the angels at the 
Saviour's birth : " Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace 
to men of good will ; '^ the reading often accepted in early times.* 
This was a very popular hymn. 

The Trisagion (thrice holy), or cherubical hymn, is among the 
earliest songs of the Church. Its first form was : " Holy, holy, 
holy. Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory, 
who art blessed forever. Amen." It, too, had many changes, 
and continued for centuries to hold a leading place in the worship 
of the early Christians. 

The " Hallelujah," which was understood to mean, " Praise ye 
the Lord," was sung with the greatest fervor, publicly and 
privately. It was the call for monks to come to their assemblies, 
when one of their number went around singing it. 

Paulinus says : " The whole sheepfold of Christ sings Halle- 
lujah." t 

Another early hymn was called " Benedicete," or the song of 
the three children in the burning fiery furnace. Chrysostom says 
of this hymn, " that it was sung in all places throughout the 
world, and would continue to be sung in future generations." J 

The Magnificat, or song of Mary : " My soul doth magnify the 
Lord," etc., was publicly sung in the churches of France, as early 
as A. D. 506. § 

Clement of Alexandria, || about the end of the second century, 
or beginning of the third, wrote some beautiful hymns, which are 
still extant, though not used. And Gregory of Nazianzen, who 
died in the end of the fourth century, was celebrated as an author 
of hymns. 

Hilary of Poictiers, who died A. D. 368, is regarded as one of 
the first writers who composed hymns for use in public worship 
in the AYest. T[ Jerome says, ** that Hilary composed a book of 
hymns, and such was the merit of these songs that they were 
ratified and confirmed by the fourth Council of Toledo. But no 

* Bingham's "Antiquities," book xiv. chap. ii. sec. 3. 

f Id., book xiv. chap. ii. sec. 4. X ^^-i book xiv. chap. ii. sec. 6. 

§ Td., book xiv. chap. ii. sec. 7. 

I Riddle's "Christ. Antiq.," p. 388. London, 1843. 

t Neander, ii. 318. Boston, 1868. ** Hieron. de Script. Eccl., cap. ex. 



400 HYMNS. 

one of them is extant except a hymn prefixed to his works and 
sent with an epistle to his daughter Abra. * 

Hymns of Ambrose, 

Ambrose is better known as an author of hymns than any 
Christian before his day. He composed thirty, which were used 
in the churches. He wrote the " Deus Creator omnium/^ etc. ; 
and one on ^^ The repentance of Peter after the crowing of the 
Cock/' which were greatly prized in public worship. But the 
Te Deum was his masterpiece (if it was really his). This hymn 
is usually ascribed to Ambrose, f and with good reason ; though 
Stillingfleet says : J "It was composed by Nicettus, about one hun- 
dred years after the death of Ambrose," and the learned Bingham 
holds the same view. 

For fourteen or fifteen centuries, the Te Deum has borne to the 
shining heights of Paradise the thanks of grateful millions over 
an abounding harvest; or the jubilant praises of a triumphant 
nation whose foes have been put to flight, or destroyed. It was 
probably the chanting of that very hymn which melted young 
Augustine to tears, as he sat in the church of the ex-governor, 
Bishop Ambrose, and listened to the finest music in the whole 
West. The following is the common Catholic version and copy of 

The Te Deum, § 

" We praise thee O God : we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. 
All the earth doth worship thee : the Father everlasting. 
To thee all angels cry aloud : the heavens and all the powers 
therein. 

To thee, cherubim and seraphim : continually do cry : 
Holy, holy, holy. Lord God of Sabaoth. 

* Hilar., Epist. ad fil. Abram. 

t Milman's " Hist, of Christianity," p. 497. K Y., 1841. 

X Stillingfleet, Origi. Brit., chap. iv. p. 222. 

§ Te Deum laudamus ; te Dominiim coufitemur. 

Te seternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur. 

Tibi omnes angeli, tibi coeli, et universse potestates. 

Tibi cherubim, et seraphim, incessabili voce proclamant : 

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus, Sabaot. 



n 



THE TE DEUM. 401 

Heaven and earth are full : of the majesty of thy glory. 

The glorious choir of the apostles : praise thee. 

The admirable company of the prophets : praise thee. 

The white robed army of the martyrs : praise thee. 

The holy Church throughout all the world : doth acknowledge 
thee. 

The Father : of an infinite majesty. 

Thy adorable, true : and only Son. 

Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter. 

Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ. 

Thou art the everlasting son : of the Father. 

When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man : thou didst not 
abhor the Virgin's womb. 

When thou hadst overcome the sting of death : thou didst open 
the kingdom of heaven to all believers. 

Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the 
Father. 

We believe that thou shalt come : to be our judge. 

We pray thee, therefore, to help thy servants : whom thou hast 
redeemed with thy precious blood. 

Make them to be numbered with thy saints : in glory everlasting. 

O Lord, save thy people : and bless thine inheritance. 

Govern them : and lift them up forever. 

Pleni sunt coeli et terra, maj estatis glorise tuae, 
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus, 
Te prophetarum laudabilis numerus, 
Te martyrum candidatus laudat exercitns. 
Te per orbem terrarum sancta conlitetur ecclesia. 
Patrem immensge maj estatis. 
Venerandum tuum veriira, et unicnm Filium. 
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum. 
Tu rex glorise, Christe. 
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius. 

Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Yirginis uterum. 
Tu devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna coelorum. 
Tu ad dextram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris. 
Judex crederis esse venturus. 

Te ergo qusesumus, tuis famulis subveni, quos pretioso sanguine redemisti. 
Sterna fac cum Sanctis tuis, in gloria numerari. 
Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hsereditati tuae. 
Et rege eos, et extolle illos, usque in seternum. 
26 



402 HYMNS. 

Day by day : we magnify thee. 

And we praise thy name forever : yea, forever and ever. 

Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day : to keep us without sin. 

O Lord have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us. 

O Lord, let thy mercy be showed upon us : as we have hoped 
in thee. 

O Lord, in thee have I hoped : let me not be confounded 
forever.'' 

Bishop Mant translates another hymn of Ambrose ; of which 
the following is a part : 

Theirs the firm faith of holy birth, 

The hope that looks above, 
And, trampling on the powers of earth, 

Their Saviour's perfect love. 

In them the heavens exulting own 

The father's might revealed, 
Thy triumph gained, begotten Son, 

The Spirit's influence sealed, 

Arius, the founder of the ancient sect bearing his name, had a 
talent for composing hymns ; and from the statements of Socrates and 
Sozomen, he used it with great success in commending his opinions 
and confounding his religious adversaries. The Arians on all 
feast days, and times set apart for worship, gathered in bands and 
marched through the streets of Constantinople, singing responsive 
verses Avith such insulting questions in them as : " AYhere are 
they that say : Three things are but one power ? '' These musical 
warriors would begin their melodious march early in the morning, 
and continue it during the greater part of the night. 

The great Chrysostom, becoming alarmed at the popularity of 
these heterodox songs, had others composed to counteract their in- 

Per singulos dies benedicimus te. 

Et laudamus nomen tuum in speculum, et in saeculum sseculi. 

Dignare, Domine, die isto, sine peccato nos custodire. 

Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri. 

Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos : quemadmodum speravimusin te. 

In te, Domine, speravi : non confundar in seternum." 

" Garden of the Soul,^^ p. 79. London. 



HYMNS. 403 

fluence. And he too formed processions with splendid silver 
crosses and lighted ta2:)ers borne in front, in which the Trini- 
tarian hymns were sung. A tumult was the result, which led 
the Emperor to prohibit the Arian hymn chanting in pub- 
lic ; * an act whicli would have been more just and Christian, 
if both parties had been placed on the same footing before the 
law. 

Ephraim the Syrian had respectable gifts as a religious poet. It 
is said that he wrote three thousand verses. To controvert the 
heresies rendered popular by Harmonius among his countrymen, 
he composed hymns in honor of God, and in accordance with the 
doctrines of the Church. And such was the popularity of Eph- 
raim, that from his day the Syrians sang his odes, and followed 
the instructions they contained, f 

Augustine wrote a hymn to check the errors of the Donatists, 
who were making extensive use of newly composed sacred songs 
to render their opinions triumphant. J 

In Ireland, St. Patrick, about the middle of the fifth century, 
led a chief bard, accustomed to celebrate in song the warlike ex- 
ploits of his countrymen and the glories of their Druidical divini- 
ties, to the Saviour of souls ; and Dubrach MacValubair, drawn 
to the Redeemer, immediately began to make hymns in praise of 
Christianity. § 

Bede's Ecclesiastical History contains a hymn of his, of which 
the following is a part : 

Hail, Triune Power, who rulest every age, 
Assist the numbers which my pen engage. 
Let Maro wars in loftier numbers sing, 
I sound the praises of our heavenly King. 
See from on high the God descends, confined 
In Mary's womb, to rescue lost mankind. 
Behold, a spotless maid a God brings forth, 
A God is born, who gave even nature birth. | 



* Socrates, " Eccl. Hist.," lib. vi. cap. viii. Sozomen, lib. viii. cap. viii. 

f Sozomen, lib. iii. cap. xvi. 

t Augustine, Ep. 119. cap. xviii., vol. ii. 219. Paris, 1614. 

§ Neander, vol. ii. p. 124. Boston, 1868. 

II Bohn's Translation, "Eccl. Hist,," book iv. chap. xx. 



404 HYMNS. 

CEedmon, * in the year of our Lord 680, had a species of di- 
vine inspiration to make hymns, as he asserted, and as his friends 
believed. One night after caring for his horses, according to his 
office, he fell asleep at the proper time, and a person appeared to 
him in his sleep and commanded him to sing ; he refused ; the 
command was imperatively repeated, and a subject given him for 
versification ; he forthwith began to make beautiful hymns. In 
the morning he told his dream and he repeated his hymns. He 
was soon after elevated from stableman, in Whitby Abbey, to be 
a brother in the convent, by St. Hilda, the Abbess. He made 
hymns on creation, the origin of man, the departure of Israel out of 
Egypt, and their entrance into Canaan, the incarnation, sufferings, 
resurrection, and ascension of the Saviour, the coming of the 
Holy Spirit, the preaching of the apostles, the judgment day, and 
the delights of heaven. " Whatever was interpreted to him out 
of Scripture, he soon after put into poetical expressions of much 
sweetness and humility. By his verses the minds of many were 
often excited to despise the world and aspire to heaven. Others 
after him in England attempted to compose religious poems, but 
none could compare with Csedmon." * 

Part af an Ancient Hymn attributed to St. Patrick, 

This hymn is written in a very old dialect of the Irish Celtic ; 
it has no appeals to saints, angels, or the Virgin Mary. If not 
the work of St. Patrick, it must have been the composition of 
some one who lived near his time. This version was made by 
Dr. Todd, a distinguished Irish scholar : 

I bind to myself to-day 

The strong power of the invocation of the Trinity, 

The faith of the Trinity in unity, 

The Creator of the elements. 

I bind to myself to-day 

The power of the incarnation of Christ, 

Wit '*jhat of his baptism ; 

The power of the crucifixion, 

With that of his burial ; 

* Bede's " Eccl. Hist.," lib. iv. cap. xxiv. 



HYMNS. 405 

The power of the resurrection, 
With that of the ascension 
The power of the coming 
To the sentence of judgment. 

I bind to myself to-day 

The power of God to guide me, 

The might of God to uphold me, 

The wisdom of God to teach me, 

The eye of God to watch over me, 

The ear of God to hear me. 

The word of God to give me speech. 

The hand of God to protect me, 

The way of God to prevent me, 

The shield of God to shelter me. 

The host of God to defend me. 

Of the Lord is salvation, 
Christ is salvation. 
With us ever be 
Thy salvation, O Lord. * 

Greek Psalmody, 

The hymns of the Greek Church are chiefly the composition of 
poets who flourished in the eight and ninth centuries, Kosmas, 
John of Damascus, Theophanes, Joseph of Constantinople, An- 
dreas, Bishop of Crete, and Germanus, Bishop of Constanti- 
nople, t 

Modern Catholie Psalmody. 

A few of the hymns now used in Catholic churches have been 
handed down from the earliest times and from the middle ages. 
But Romish hymns are chiefly of modern origin, in their doc- 
trines, semi-deities, and composition. Peter F. Cunningham, of 
Philadelphia, with the approval of Bishop Wood, has published a 
little book containing 209 hymns. Of these, sixty-five are about 
Mary, forty-six about saints and angels, sixty-six ab Christ, 
sixteen about the Father and the Spirit, and a v; v others not capa- 
ble of classification under any of these heads. Csedraon had no 



* "St. Patrick and the early Irish Church." Philada., pp. 146-50. 
f Riddle's " Christian Antiquities," p. 391. London, 1843. 



406 HYMI^S. 

song addressed to Mary. There is no early hymn ^\Titten in hei 
praise. 

Several hymns in Cunningham's book^ and in the " Mission 
Book/' are well-known Protestant compositions. Of this class are 
" Rock of Ages/' by Toplady ; '^ Soldiers of Christ, Arise/' by 
Charles Wesley ; '^ Jesus, Lover of my Soul/' by Charles Wesley ; 
'^ Before Jehovah's Awful Throne/' by Dr. Watts ; ^^ Come Sound 
His Praise Abroad/' by Dr. Watts ; ^^ Children of the Heavenly 
King/' by Cennick ; and " Sweet the Moments, rich in Blessing/' 
by Allen and Shirley. These Protestant authors would be asto- 
nished could they know that their hymns were sung in Catholic 
churches ; and many of the faithful would be utterly confounded if 
they were aware that heretics had made their holy songs. We 
present the following as samples of the hymns sung in Catholic 
churches, either as praises of, or prayers to creatures ; of course, the 
hymns are abridged. 

ST. ALOYSIUS.* 

Charmed with the Deity alone, 

Terrestrial pursuits he forsakes, 
And ere yet half to manhood grown, 
His virgin vows to IMary makes. 
Amiable and angelic youth, 
Aloysius pray for us. 

ST. ROSE OF LIMA. 

And while amidst his glories now. 

Thou seest him face to face, O deign, 
St, Rose, to hear thy suppliants' vow. 

That grace and glory we may gain, 

ST. AGNES 

O holy martyr, spotless dove. 

With joy we celebrate thy day •, 
Thou dwellest now in bliss above. 

Where tyrants o'er thee have no sway. 
Sweet Agnes, let thy pleading voice 
For us at Mercy's throne be heard. 

* The following stanzas are from Cunningham's Book. 



HYMNS. 407 

HYMN OF ST. ALPHONSO RODRIGUEZ— A JESUIT. 

Cliorus. — Hark ! hark! the vaults of heaven 
Re-echo in joyful lays : 
Angels tune their golden harps 

To sound the blest Alphonso's praise. 

Servant of God, though lowly was thy state 
Whilst here on earth, thy labors were great ; 
And now, in heaven above the starry skies, 
At Mary^s feet, thou enjoy est the blissful prize. 

HYMN TO ST. IGNATIUS. 

{Founder of the Order of Jesuits.) 
Ye angels now be glad, 

And thou exult, O earth ! 
Loyola's happy shade, 

Rejoice at thy saint's birth. 

Chorus. — Loyola's son all hail, 
\ By angels crowned above ; 

Ignatius, father dear. 

Accept thy children's love. 

Stretched on a bed of pain, 

Christ's holy life he reads, 
While for his mis-spent youth 

His heart now sorely bleeds. 

Chorus. — Loyola's son all hail, etc. 

HYMN TO BLESSED JOHN BERCHMANS— A JESUIT. 

Chorus. — In life's joyous morning, 
Aiming for the skies. 
See our blessed Berchmans 
To perfection rise. 

Worthy child of Mary, 

Faithful, meek, and pure, 
Vain were earth's enticements, 
Yain the tempter's lure. 

Chorus. — In life's joyous morning, etc. 

ST. PHILIP NERL 

If from earth a fervent prayer, 
Up to heaven the angels bear, 



408 HYMI^-S. 

Shall his prayer have less of grace 
Who sees Jesus face to face ? 
Holy Philip, bend thine ear, 
Our petition kindly hear. 

Chorus. — Ora pro nobis, ora pro nobis, 
Holy Philip, pray for us. 

ST. PATRICK. 

Hibernia's champion saint, all hail ! 

With fadeless glory crowned ; 
The offspring of your ardent zeal 

This day your praise shall sound. 
Great and glorious St. Patrick, 
Pray for that dear country. 
The land of our fathers : 
Great and glorious St. Patrick, 
Hearken to the prayer of thy children. 

MARY. 

Hail, queen of heaven, the ocean star, 
Guide of the wanderer here below I 

Thrown on life's surge we claim thy care : 
Save us from peril and from wo. 

Chorus, — ^Mother of Christ, star of the sea. 

Pray for the wanderer, pray for me. 

BLESSED PETER CLAVER. 

The slave, the desolate to cheer, 
Honors and riches, all most dear. 
Gladly, blest Claver, you did leave 
Treasure in heaven, to receive. 
Our voices are blending, 
Our prayers are ascending. 
Take us for thy children, we'll honor thy name. 
Blest Claver, thy love, thy protection we claim. 



ROMAN CATHOLICS WHO WERE WORTHY OF All 

HONOR. 

Sir Walter Scott has a reputation which it would be diffi- 
cult to excel, and a literary position which he honestly earned ; and 
yet there is throughout his works a vein of rancorous malignity to 
the Scotch Covenanters as mean as it is unjustifiable. He had 
political and religious prejudices unlike theirs; and they were not 
perfect ; and he uses their faults murderously magnified, to prove 
them sanctified demons. Afiier the battle of Bothwell Bridge, he 
describes a few of the leaders of the Presbyterians in a house 
brooding over their defeat in solemn grief; and Henry Morton, a 
man with a faith somewhat different, who had fought on their side, 
joining their company. The men are all Covenanters, and there 
is a general desire among them to murder Morton, as a kind of 
sacrifice to God. The person who leads his fellows in this busi- 
ness is the Reverend Ephraim Macbriar, a preacher of unusual 
eloquence ; and the point that settled his doom with Ephraim, was 
the repetition of some supplications from the book of Common 
Prayer. " There lacked but this," said he, " to root out my carnal 
reluctance to see his blood shed." * So after twelve at night, 
Morton must die, as a victim sent by Jehovah to atone for the 
sins which occasioned the defeat at Bothwell Bridge. It was 
Sunday, they were Covenanters, and the deed of blood must not 
be executed till the sacred hours of the Lord's day are gone. 
But it is planned on the Sabbath, and in heart committed. This 
is Sir Walter Scott's charge against an intelligent Presbyterian 
minister, and brethren of his, of influence. This is the spirit in 
which he generally speaks of these men. A greater injustice never 

'^ Waverley jSTovels : "Tales of my Landlord," vol. 1. p. 93. Philada.: Peterson. 

409 



410 WORTHY CATHOLICS. 

was perpetrated. The Covenanters were not always, nor all 
angels, but they wielded an influence for liberty, for God, for in- 
telligence, immensely surpassing anything ever performed by all 
the noble or untitled marauders of the Scottish borders, or their 
descendants that ever bore the name of Scott, not excepting the 
sage of Abbotsford and Lord Chancellor Eldon. We admire the 
life, Avorks, and saintly spirit of the gentle Archbishop Leighton, 
and the lives and labors of troops of his episcopal and presbyterial 
brothers on the other side of the Tweed ; and we glory in the 
heroes of the Scottish covenant as presenting some of the brightest 
examples of faith in Christian history ; and the man who paints 
them as demons in cruelty, and angels in professions, and lauds as 
a valiant hero, John Graham of Claverhouse, their merciless 
butcher, is not in these transactions a just man. The sun gathers 
crystal globules of water from the pure fountain, and he lifts it 
from the stagnant pool ; nor does he pass by one offensive puddle ; 
he sends it to the clouds, and it comes down in refreshing sweet- 
ness. The servants of God as children of the light, should recog- 
nise worth everywhere, in the foul pool, as well as in the sweet 
fountain. 

The Catholic Church has produced large numbers of distinguished 

and good Men. 

Alfred the Great was a E-omanist, and though the religion of 
England in his day was growing very corrupt and superstitious, 
it is probable that Alfred was a true Christian. He is commonly 
regarded as the author of several of our local institutions, without 
which liberty in England and America would be no more real 
and abiding than in countries peopled by the Latin race. A 
larger-hearted patriot, a braver hero, a leader more worthy to rule 
men, never sat on a throne ; and, 'with a few exceptions, never 
wielded the destinies of a republic. 

Charlemagne, in the end of the eighth century, was a Roman 
Catholic. He abominated the worship of images, and in many 
things was more enlightened than the people of his age. He was 
a mighty man in valor, and wisdom, and not unlikely in piety. 
The eighth century had abundant reason to be proud of him. 

Roger Bacon was a monk, and yet a man of a most ingenious 



WORTHY CATHOLICS. 411 

and philosophical mind. He lived in the thirteenth century, and 
gave a glory to his name and age, which the celebrated Lord 
Bacon of a later day could hardly increase even by his famous 
" Inductive Philosophy." 

The barons who signed Magna Charta, and compelled the king 
to grant it, were all Roman Catholics. The first charter of liberty 
in. modern times was extorted from John, king of England, by 
his Roman Catholic subjects, with Stephen Langton, the Catholic 
Archbishop of Canterbury, at their head — a charter which has 
given liberty to England, and freedom to America; and which 
has bestowed kindred blessings on other lands. It must be added 
however, that Innocent III. suspended Langton for his share in 
procuring the charter, and nullified the deed of liberty as far as he 
could destroy it. But it would not die, even to please an infallible 
pope. 

Matthew Paris, a monk of St. Albans, has left the world under 
lasting obligations to him. For carefulness, intelligent selection, 
perspicuity of style, and for the extent of time and the mass of 
facts of which his work treats, Paris stands without an equal for 
centuries. The scholar to-day, in every land, honors this monk. 

William Tell, who kindled the fires of Swiss freedom, which 
have blazed and sent their light over frozen mountains and happy 
valleys, over sunny Italy and beautiful France, was a Roman 
Catholic. 

Sir William Wallace, the pride of every Scottish heart, one of 
the noblest patriots and most valiant heroes that ever struggled 
for liberty, or honored the land of his birth, was a Roman 
Catholic. 

Columbus, w^lio gave a new world to the nations of the West, 
and a magnificent country to ourselves — with mighty rivers and 
mountain ranges, sublime scenery, and vast metallic treasures, a 
land which does not bear a slave and could not endure a despot — 
was a Roman Catholic. 

John Gutenberg, the inventor of printing, was a Catholic ; and 
through his mighty art, the Reformers sent their Bibles and re- 
ligious works over states and kingdoms, until the empire of the 
popes was broken in pieces by the press of the printer of Maintz. 

Charles Carrol, of Carrolton, one of the signers of the Declara- 



412 WOETHY CATHOLICS. 

tion of Independence, was a Catholic, a man of whom no American 
need be ashamed, a worthy companion of some of the greatest 
patriots to whom human nature ever gave birth. 

We might proceed to specify other worthies, but the number is 
sufficient. We have known true men among Roman Catholics, 
and women of honor and kindness, for whom our respect was 
spontaneous, and our friendship real. We have met them in 
humble life, and we have seen them elsewhere. And we have 
often found them good citizens, and kind friends. Our trouble is 
with their religious system, not with them ; and with their leaders, 
who would use that vast network — the Eomish scheme — to destroy 
the Protestant religion, and the liberties of men. 

The world has no greater enemies to political freedom and Bible 
truth than the rulers of the Catholic Church. There was not a 
breath of liberty in Rome, nor one Protestant church, till the sol- 
diers of Victor Emmanuel plucked the sceptre and the sword from 
the hands of the crowned priest. 



THE INQUISITION. 

In the early part of the thirteenth century the people of Tou- 
louse in France rebelled against the popes to show their obedience 
to Jesus. The head of the Church was alarmed, and proclaimed 
a crusade against these servants of God. War, waged by the most 
ferocious men that ever were enlisted in human slaughter, scourged 
these early Protestants ; but as they would not all come boldly 
out to be slain, it was necessary to search for them that they might 
be destroyed, and a new system for this object was adopted, and 
it was called 

THE HOLY INQUISITION. 

This institution was established about A. D. 1215.* It began 
under Innocent III. Dominic, a Spaniard, was its founder. He 
was a man of fiery zeal, considerable genius, some eloquence, a 
stubborn will, boundless hatred, a superstitious heart ; and of an 
activity which left nothing possible undone. 

His mother, before his birth, dreamt that her offspring should 
be a whelp, carrying in his mouth a lighted torch ; that after he 
was born he should put the world in an uproar by his fierce bark- 
ings ; and set it on fire by his torch. His followers interpreted the 
dream of his doctrine which gave light to the world. 

The standard of the inquisition of Goa bears a picture of Dominic, 
with a sword in one hand and an olive branch in the other ; at his 
feet are a globe bearing a crucifix, and a dog with the end of a 
fiery torch in his mouth, pouring its flames upon the globe ; and 
above his head is the motto : " misericordia et justitia,'^ mercy and 
justice. " Of Dominic's mercy the world has seen little ; of the 

* Limborch's " History of the Inquisition," p. 94-5. London, 1816. 
Mosheim's " Ecclesiastical History," pp. 476-7, note. London, 1848. 

413 



414 LAWS OF THE INQUISITION. 

justice of his inquisition the Omniscient eye never detected one 
bright ray. 

THE SPANISH INQUISITION. 

Nowhere in Catholic Christendom did the Holy Office attain such 
power, or practice such shocking barbarities, as in Spain. 

Though it existed in that land before 1478,* only in that year 
was it everywhere established ; and placed in a position so com- 
manding, that for centuries it was the great fact in Spanish life 
and history. 

Aims of the Inquisition. 

Its professed object was the destruction of heresy, Mohammed- 
anism and Judaism in Spain. But Llorente declares that the 
true motive for the establishment of the inquisition by Ferdinand 
V. was to carry on a rigorous system of confiscation against the 
Jews, so that their wealth might be seized for the royal treasury. f 
Sixtus lY. sanctioned the measure, to gain the point dearest to 
the court of Rome : an increase of domination. Covetousness, papal 
ambition, and superstition united their efforts in the erection of the 
most formidable and WICKED TRIBUNAL that ever terrified 
mankind. 

Some of the Laws of the Inquisition. 

The Holy Office, with a few restrictions on its modes of proce- 
dure, could try any ecclesiastic in Spain, however exalted his rank. 
The laymen of the nation were entirely at its mercy, from the hum- 
blest peasant to the most illustrious noble or prince. Its victims 
might be boys in their eleventh and girls in their tenth year; J 
even children so young might be tortured and executed with the 
usual cruelties. 

No Charge ever Exhibited to the Prisoner. 
A victim of the Holy Office never saw the accusation preferred 
ao-ainst him ; was never confronted with the witnesses : nor were 
their names ever communicated to him directly or indirectly ; 
everything that could give him the slightest clue to his denouncers 
was artfully concealed. He was invited to confess his sins from 

* Llorente' s " History of the Inquisition," p. 19. Philada., 1843. 

+ Id,p.5. 

% Limborch's " History of the Inquisition," p. 270. London, 1816. 



LAWS OF THE INQUISITION. 415 

his earliest years ; to relate anything he had ever said against 
Holy Mother Church ; and any act he had ever performed 
against religion ; and if he would confess nothing under the per- 
suasions of terror and torture, he was then examined in reference 
to the charges brought against him. The object of this strange 
procedure was to obtain a knowledge of other offences than those 
upon which the accusation was based. 

Lawyers of the Holy Office. 
There were advocates in the inquisition who belonged to that 
dread tribunal.* These pleaders were sworn to secrecy ; and they 
were bound to use every effort to make their clients confess. They 
never saw a prisoner except in the presence of an inquisitor. A 
notorious heretic was forbidden the services of these lawyers ; nor 
were they j^ermitted to give any advice to a sufferer if they 
believed he had departed from the faith. 

Everything transpiring in the Holy Office must he kept Secret hy 
its Officers and Prisoners. 

No one outside of its walls could be safely informed about the 
number or names of the incarcerated ; their crimes, their health, 
or their affairs. Nothing was to be communicated except such 
matters as the inquisitors themselves saw fit to publish. The 
unwilling inmates were to be regarded as dead, as far as relatives 
and friends were concerned. And if by a rare accident they should 
emerge from their living tomb, no hint must be given of the hidden 
horrors of St. Dominic's tribunal. 

Juan, n^ Sotomayer,t a native of Murcia in Spain, was con- 
demned to do penance as a suspected Jew by the inquisition; he 
conversed with several about his confession and trial after his liber- 
ation ; for this indiscretion he was arrested again, and sentenced 
to receive two hundred lashes, and to be imprisoned for life. 

The Sentence is never known hy a Prisoner till the day of Execution, 

Weary months may roll past before the coming of an Auto da 
Fe ; he may be tormented by the most dreadful apprehensions, 

* Rule's 'History of the Inquisition," p. 53. London, 1868. 

f Llorente's " History of tlie Inquisition," p. 96. Pbilada., 1843. 



416 LAWS OF THE INQUISITION. 

but a hint of his approaching fate never reaches him until he 
reads it in the figures on his dress, or in his place in the procession 
as he marches forth in the Act of Faith, 

In the Dungeons of the Inquisition no Prisoner must make the 
slightest Noise. 

No pains of heart, of racked limbs, or of disease must occasion 
any disturbance in the silent cells of the Holy Office.* It is said 
that once a poor prisoner coughed, the jailers admonished him to 
be quiet; they commanded him a second time to desist; and be- 
cause he could not, they stripped him and beat him very severely; 
and as he continued to cough they repeated their violence until he 
died under their hands. There must be no psalms or hymns 
sung, no prayers offered to God in an audible voice, no conversation 
between prisoners on any occasion. A jailer, f in the exercise of 
almost unexampled compassion, permitted a mother and her two 
daughters, who were imprisoned in different cells, to spend half an 
hour together ; for this Peter ab Herara was thrown into prison, 
and subjected to such cruelties that his mind became disordered ; 
then after a year spent in his own dungeons, he was led out with 
a halter about his neck as if lie had been an odious malefactor ; 
and he was ordered to receive two hundred lashes through the 
city, and to be sent to the galleys for six years. 

The Prisoners are excluded from all religious Piles. 

Mass is never celebrated for the prisoners of the Holy Office, 
nor is there any privilege of Catholic worship granted them. 

No Prisoner becomes acquainted with his Fellow-sifferer though 
he may be in the next Cell. 

Near relatives have been in the same inquisition for years with- 
out knowing it till they met at an Auto da F^. 

Prisoners receive no Tidings of the outside World. 

Their dearest ones may be dying, or may have yielded to the 
Last Enemy ; revolutions or wasting wars may be filling their 



* Limborch, 247. ] Id., 357. 



LAWS OF THE INQUISITION. 417 

country with desolation and carnage, but they can know notliing 
of what is passing. ^'Soon after my imprisonment/' says Da 
Costa, ^' I heard an alarm of fire, and I asked one of the guards, 
who was a little more kind than the rest, where it had taken 
place, and if it had caused much damage ? I was told that the 
prisoners of the inquisition were not to busy themselves with 
anything that occurred outside." * What a scene of silent horror, 
even when instruments of bodily torture were not applied, awaited 
a victim of the inquisition ! 

The 3Ioment a Man is imprisoned by the Holy Office it seizes 
all his Property. 

If his goods are perishable they are forthwith sold ; otherwise 
the inquisition takes possession of all its prisoners own until their 
cases are decided ; when, if a man is declared innocent, he has to 
pay the expenses of his support, and prosecution ; and if he is 
condemned, the Holy Office claims his estate. 

Every one is bound on Pain of Excommunication to accuse a 
Heretic to the Inquisition. 

The husband must inform on the wife, the son on the father, 
and brothers upon each other. The holiest ties to which affection 
has given birth, or which nature has joined, are to be rudely dis- 
regarded ; and loved ones are to hasten before " those despicable 
scholastic theologians too ignorant and prejudiced to be able to 
ascertain the truth between the doctrines of Luther and those of 
Roman Catholicisfn," who are called Lords Inquisitors, and give 
them information which will quickly prompt them to inflict the 
most atrocious outrages ever suffered out of the abyss. 

The Inquisitors use the greatest Hypocrisy to secure Confessions 
from their Prisoners on the Strength of which they may burn 
thefin. 

They will pretend friendship for the accused, and even compas- 
sion, and say to them : ^' You did believe these sort of persons, 
who taught such and such things, to be good men, you willingly 






* Da Costa's Narr., vol. i. 73. 
27 



418 LAWS OF THE IXQUISITIOlSr. 

heard them and gave them somewhat of your substance ; or re- 
ceived them sometimes into your house because you were a simple 
man and loved them/' * If any prisoner admitted such acts, he 
was sure to be burned. Fox tells about a lady, who wdth her 
two daughters and a niece was apprehended at Seville for heresy ; 
they were tortured without betraying Jesus. f When it was over 
one of the inquisitors sent for the youngest daughter, and pretend- 
ing great compassion for her in her sufferings, he bound himself 
with a solemn oath not to betray her if she would disclose all to 
him ; and to secure the release of her mother and sister and cousin 
and of herself, made confident by his oath, she revealed all the 
tenets of their faith ; when the perjured wretch ordered her to be 
put to the rack that he might compel her to reveal other matters ; 
but she firmly refused, and they were all burned at the next Auto 
da Fe. 

The Dead who have departed in Heresy are to he Tried. 

Ferdinand Valdes, Archbishop of Seville and Inquisitor-General 
in 1561, among eight-one rules for the Holy Office, issued the 
following : % '^ When sufficient proof exists to authorize proceed- 
ings against the memory and property of a deceased person, ac- 
cording to the ancient instruction, the accusation of the fiscal shall 
be signified to the children, the heirs or other interested persons, 
each of whom shall receive a copy of the notification. If no per- 
son presents himself to defend the memory of the accused, or to 
appeal against the seizure of his goods, the inquisitors shall ap- 
point a defender and pursue the trial, considering him as a party. 
If any one interested appears, his rights shall be respected. Until 
the affair is terminated, the sequestration of the property cannot 
take place, because it has passed into other hands, yet the possessors 
shall he deprived of it if the deceased is found guilty. ^^ And, as an 
illustration of the character of such a plundering law, § Eleonora de 
Vibero, who had been some time dead and buried without any 
doubt of her piety, was accused of Lutheranism by the fiscal of 
the inquisition ; a manifest slander, as she had received the sacra- 

* Limborch, 380. f "Book of Martyrs," p. 113. 

X Llorente, p. 92. § Llorente, p. 76. 



LAWS OF THE INQUISITION. 419 

ments and the eucharlst at her death. The fiscal supported his 
charge by several witnesses, who had been tortured or threatened, 
and she was condemned. Her body was dng up and burned, with 
her effigy ; her property was confiscated, her house torn down, and 
a decree was issued fi^rbidding it to be rebuilt; and a monument, 
WMth an inscription commemorating the deed of vengeance, was 
erected upon its site. Truly it was a serious thing to live in the 
land of these inquisitors, and an awkward business to die in it, if 
one had property or descendants. 

The Prisoner is tortured in the Inquisition because there is not 
Evidence to convict him. 

Limborch says: * '^ They never proceed to torture unless there 
is alack of other proofs; when the prisoner cannot make his inno- 
cence appear plainly to the judge, and at the same time he cannot 
be fully convicted by witnesses or the evidence of the thing." If 
there is no testimony to convict a prisoner, and the inquisitor either 
suspect him or covet his property, then he may tear him on the 
rack until he terrifies liim into some confession, which will justify 
the dainty conscience of the inquisitor in sending him to the fag- 
gots or the galleys and seizing his estate. What room such a law 
gave to torture the innocent ! to rack, plunder, scourge and burn 
as good Catholics as any of the demon-hearted followers of fierce 
St. Dominic ! And hosts of the faithful children of Kome did suffer 
these enormous wrongs prepared for her enemies. Every work 
on the inquisition describes the story of Maria de Bohorques and 
her sister Jane, daughters of a gentleman in Seville. Maria was 
a girl of cultivated mind, of great courage, of unwavering faith in 
Jesus, the God of the New Testament, which she loved. She 
was thrown into the inquisition, and then confessed her love for 
Christ and his word ; she nobly defended her faith against the 
cunning wild beasts in human shape who were surely dragging her 
to a death which, had it been worse, they themselves richly de- 
served. When on the rack they made her say that her sister Jane 
had not reproved her for the opinions she entertained. As her 
body was chained to the stake, they bade her recite the Creed, 

* Limborch, p. 408. 



420 LAWS OF THE INQUISITION. 

which she did readily, and immediately began to .explain it in a 
Protestant sense, showing a soul sustained by the strength of the 
Almighty. To stop her, they strangled her and pitched her body 
into the flames. Her sister was immediately imprisoned on the 
flimsy pretext that she had not reproved Maria. As they found 
she was soon to become a mother, they allowed her to remain in 
a superior cell until the birth of her child, eight days after which 
it was removed, and she was forthwith transferred to a low dungeon. 
On the fifteenth day after her confinement, she appeared before the 
inquisitors,* when charges were made which she could not dis- 
prove, which amounted to nothing; and as they had not testimony 
to convict her, even according to their own barbarous code, they 
took this young mother and dislocated her joints, gashed her arms 
and ankles with ropes which cut to the bone ; " Passed a cord over 
her breast thinking to add new pangs, and by an additional out- 
rage of decency as well as humanity, extort some cry that might 
serve to criminate husband or friend. But when the tormentor 
weighed down the bar, her frame gave way, the ribs crushed in- 
wards ; hlood flowed from her mouth and nostrils ; she was carried 
to her cell, ivhere she lingered for another week, and then the God 
of pity took her to himself In process of time, the Holy Office 
declared her innocent. Surely the self-confessed murderers of this 
young mother deserve the maledictions of the whole human race, 
and especially of all Catholics, for wickedly killing such a blame- 
less and worthy member of their Church. 

1 

The Holy Office could not put any one to Death. I 

This law governed every department of the Church of Rome, 
even in her most blood-thirsty days. The inquisition tried a 
prisoner, and handed him over to the secular judge for sentence 
and execution ; and, with a hypocrisy worthy of "the harlot 
drunken with the blood of saints,'^ entreated him to deal very ten- 
derly with the erring one, and not to injure him. But if he paid the 
least attention to this customary and false appeal, he would be the 

* Limborch's " History of tlie Inquisition," p. 410. London, 1816. Llo- 
rente's "History of the Inquisition," p. 85. Philada., 1843. Rule's " History 
of the Inquisition," p. 164. London, 1868. 



I 



TORTURES. 421 

next victim to be dislocated, burned and tortured, till his life 
would be worth little. This practice is the foundation of a famous 
and false saying current in some Catholic circles, that " the Church 
of Rome never persecuted any one." If the first Napoleon were 
living and said : " I never fought a battle, I never killed a man ; 
it was cruel soldiers who performed these horrid deeds," he would 
tell the truth, as Rome does about the history of her atrocious and 
countless murders. 

Tortures. 

The room in which the engines of anguish were used was 
lined with thick quilting, to cover every crevice and deaden the 
sound. 

Sometimes the prisoner had hard, small ropes placed around 
each naked arm and leg, in two different parts of each limb ; these 
were suddenly drawn tight with great force by several men, and 
the poor victim was cut to the bone in eight distinct places. 
This dreadful infliction was repeated on the same person three or 
four times in succession, as soon as he' was able to .bear it. 

By a cunning process of twisting the arms behind the back, such 
a violent contortion was produced as dislocated both shoulders, 
and resulted in the discharge of a considerable quantity of blood 
from the mouth. The shoulders were carefully set, and the same 
torture renewed several times. 

And in these violent dislocations and wounds, according to the 
testimony of the author of the '^ Book of Martyrs," the unhappy 
females who fell into the hands of the inquisitors, had not the 
least favor shown them on account of the softness of their sex or 
the prohibitions of decency. 

Sometimes the prisoner had a rope passed under his arms,* 
which were tied behind his back, by which he was drawn up into 
the air with a pulley, and left to swing for a time ; then suddenly 
he is let down near the ground, and by the shock of the jerking 
fall, all his joints are dislocated. 

In another torture, the feet were smeared with grease, and the 
soles placed close to a hot fire, and there are left to burn till the 
victim would confess. 

* Moslieim's "Ecclesiastical History," p. 477, note. London, 1848. 



I 



422 TOETUEES. 

Dr. Wylie, the author of " The Papacy/^ in 1847, was in a dis- 
mantled inquisition, nearly surrounded by the waters of Lake 
Leman, called the Castle of Chillon, describing which he says : * 
^^ We entered one apartment which was evidently the hall of tor- 
ture ; for there, with the rust of centuries upon it, stood the gaunt 
apparatus of the inquisition ; the corda, queen of torments, was 
used there. The person who endured the corda had his arms tied 
behind his back, then a rope was attached to them ; a heavy iron 
weight was hung at his feet. When all was ready, the executioners 
suddenly hoisted him up to the ceiling by means of the rope which 
passed through a pulley in the top of the beam ; the arms were 
painfully wrenched backwards, and the weight of the body, in- 
creased by the weight attached to the feet, in most cases sufficed to 
tear the arms from their sockets. If he refused to confess, he was 
suddenly let down with a jerk which completed the dislocation. 
While suspended, the prisoner was sometimes whipped, or had a 
hot iron thrust into various parts of his body, his tormentors ad- 
monishing him all the while to speak the trutli. At each of the 
four corners of the room was a pulley fixed, showing that the 
apartment had been fitted up for the yeglia. The veglia re- 
sembled a smith's anvil with a spike on tlie top, ending in an iron 
die. Through the pulleys in the four corners of the room ran four 
ropes ;' these were tied to the naked arms and legs of the sufferer, 
and twisted so as to cut to the bone. He was lifted up and set 
down exactly with his back-bone on the die, which, as the whole 
weight of the body rested on it, wrought by degrees into the bone. 
This torture, which was excruciating, was to last eleven hours if 
the prisoner did not confess. 

" In a small adjoining apartment was shown a recess in the wall, j ' 

with a trap-door below it. In that recess, said the guide, stood an 
image of the Virgin. The prisoner accused of heresy was brought 
and made to kneel upon the trap-door, and, in the presence of the 
Virgin, to abjure heresy. To prevent his apostasy, the moment 
he made his confession the bolt was drawn, and the man lay a 
mangled corpse on the rocks below.'' 

Elizabeth Vasconellos was brought into the hall of torture; 



* "The Papacy," p. 452. Edinburgh, 1852. 



PUNISHMENTS. 423 

her back was stripped, and she was whipped with a scourge of 
knotted cords for some time. Soon after, with a red hot iron the 
executioner burned her on the breast in three places, and sent her to 
prison without any application for the painful sores. A month 
later she was scourged with the same brutal formalities as on the 
previous occasion. At a subsequent audience one of her shoes 
was removed and a red hot iron slipper was placed upon her foot, 
which burned her to the bone, and made her faint away.* 

Llorente, formerly secretary of the inquisition, and chancellor 
of the University of Toledo in Spain, says :t '^ I shall not describe 
the different modes of torture employed by the inquisition, as that 
has been done by many historians already ; I shall only say that 
NONE OF THEM CAN BE ACCUSED OF EXAGGE- 
RATION." Here is a witness with the records of the inquisi- 
tion before him ; with a full knowledge of the horrors ascribed to 
its torture-chambers by the writers of the world, and he declares 
that none of these authors can be accused of exaggeration. Little 
wonder that Spanish mobs would aid the familiars of the inquisi- 
tion in dragging a prisoner to its cells ; or that Spanish parents 
would not lift a j&nger to hinder the same officials from hurrying 
off a manly son or a lovely daughter to their frightful tribunal. 
The Holy Office had terrified the nation out of its manhood. 
Neither the Almighty nor the Wicked One was half so much 
dreaded as the inquisition. 

Ordinary Punishments of the Inquisition. 

Its mildest penalties were imprisonment, confinement on the 
galleys, or several hundred lashes administered on the public 
streets. 

The Sanbenito. 

This article Avas prominent in the punishments inflicted by the 
inquisitors. It was a woollen garment of a yellow color, descend- 
ing to the knees, with crosses on it. Sometimes a prisoner was 
released and ordered to wear it for years. And wherever he 
appeared he was frowned upon, hooted, greeted with oaths, regarded 

^ Limborch's "History of the Inquisition,'' pp. 497-8. London, 1816. 
f Llorente's " History of tlie Inquisition," p. 30. Philada., 1843. 




424 PUNISHMENTS. 

with horror^ shunned by all as quickly as his badge of inquisito- 
rial vengeance was recognized. If he laid it aside his doom Avas 
appalling, and if he continued to wear it the famishings of hunger, 
the daggers of hate, and the execrations of a whole commu- 
nity drove him to despair and the grave. Those condemned to 
the stake had their likenesses painted on the sanbenito, surrounded 
by flames, and by devils described in hideous attitudes. The san- 
benitos of all Avho were put to death, and of those who were con- 
demned to wear them for a term of years, as a punishment, with 
the names of their owners, their crimes and punishments, painted 
upon them, were hung in the churches in which they once wor- 
shipped, that their memories might be held in everlasting detesta- 
tion, and that eternal infamy might rest upon their relatives 
and friends. 

^ ^A^he Inquisition punishes the Descendants of its Victims for two 
J Generations. 

'^The children and grand-children of those whom it has con- 
demned are prohibited from following any honorable employ- 
ment ; they must not wear any garment of silk or fine wool, or 
any ornament of gold, silver, or precious stones. Surely the 
children might be innocent if the father was worthy of the flames ; 
and the grand-children, in most cases unborn, might have been 
spared a penalty, which justice never inflicted, and which only 
INIQUITY in a state of rampant rage could have suggested. 

By this law the hosts whose parents and grand-parents had 
incurred the wrath of the Holy Office were stigmatized ; driven 
from respectable callings ; and placed at the mercy of rapacious 
informers and sacerdotal tyrants. 

The flames ended the earthly lives of those condemned to death 
by the inquisition ; unless Avhen, as a special favor, they wxre 
strangled, before their bodies were consumed^j A OiVT? -~ 

THE AUTO DA FE — THE ACT OF FAITH. jvA'*^ 

The name for such an exhibition is curious, it ought .to have 
been called : The Act of Burning Love. But the nomenclature 
of the inquisition is peculiar. The Holy Office, for ir.stance, is a 



N^] 



PUNISHMENTS. 



425 



remarkable designation for such an institution. Governed by- 
example, it is probable that Satan calls his hottest furnace, The 
Arctic Freezer ; or his temptation to the assassin who commits some 
murder marked by fiendish barbarity, Benevolent Suggestions. 
An Auto da Fe was one of the grandest entertainments given in 
Catholic countries ; it was arranged with special magnificence ; the 
court, nobility, foreign embassadors, and all the dignitaries of the 
Church were there ; the people thronged to behold it in multitudes ; 
and learned in time to be delighted by its barbarities. 

The mode of conducting an Auto da Fe in Portugal was atro- 
cious. The prisoners are seized by the secular magistrates in 
presence of the inquisitors and loaded with chains; they are 
removed for a short time to a public prison, and there they are 
taken before the chief justice, who, without making a single inquiry 
into their crime asks them separately : In what faith they intend 
to die ? If they ansAver : In the Catholic ; they are immediately 
sentenced to be strangled, and their bodies are commanded to be 
burned to ashes ; if they say they will die in another faith than 
the Romish, they are condemned to die by the flames. At the 
place of execution a stake twelve feet high is erected for each suf- 
ferer ; half a yard from the top a little seat is made for the mar- 
tyr. A quantity of dry furze surrounds the stake. The negative 
and relapsed are first strangled and their bodies are given to the 
flames ; afterwards the others go up a ladder between two Jesuits, 
who exhort them to be reconciled to the Church ; failing to heed 
which the executioner ascending places them upon their seats, and 
chains them close to the stake. Again the Jesuits admonish them, 
and if the response is unfavorable they withdraw, giving them the 
cheering information that. The devil is standing at their elbow 
to receive them, and carry them with him into hell fire. Upon 
this a great shout is raised : Let the dogs' beards be made, which 
is done by thrusting burning furzes fastened on long poles against 
their faces. This cruel act is repeated until their faces are fright- 
fully scorched and blackened ; and it is always accompanied by 
jubilant shouts. The furze is then kindled at the bottom of the 
stake, the flame of which scarcely reaches higher than the seats 
occupied by the saints of God ; and if they are exposed to the 
wind it seldom ascends to their knees. In a calm day they will 



426 AN AUTO DA FE. 

be dead in thirty minutes ; in boisterous weather their sufferings 
may extend over two hours. 

An eye witness quoted by Limborch, says : * " Heytor Dias 
and Maria Pinteyra were burned alive : the woman expired in 
half an hour, and the man in twice that time. The king and his 
brothers were seated in a window so near as to be addressed in 
very moving terms for a considerable time, by the man as he was 
burning. But though he only sought a few more faggots, the 
favor was refused. The wind being fresh, and the man being 
twelve feet above the ground, six feet higher than the fuel, his 
back was completely wasted, and as he turned himself his ribs 
opened before he ceased speaJdng. All his entreaties could not 
secure him a larger allowance of wood to shorten his toyments and 
despatch him.''^ 

At an Auto da Fe held in Madrid, f June 30th, 1680, in the 
presence of the king, queen, and court, a young Jewish girl was 
consigned to the flames. No charge was alleged against her except 
her race and her religion. She was just entering on her seventeenth 
year, and she possessed remarkable beauty. At the stake she ap- 
pealed for mercy tu the queen in words which ought to have moved 
a hear| of marble : " Great queen," she cried, " is not your pres- 
ence, able to bring me some comfort under my misery? Consider 
my youth, and that I am condemned for a religion which I nursed 
in with my mother's milk.'' The queen turned away declaring 
that she pitied the miserable creature, but she did not dare to in- 
tercede for her. Any w^onder that the blight of heaven should 
shrivel up the prosperity of a nation that permitted such murders? 
that it should be stripped of its wealth and greatness, and become 
the halting cripple, the chattering dotard of earthly states ? 

Dr. Claudius Buchanan, vice-provost of the college of Fort 
"William, Bengal, visited the inquisition of Goa in the East Indies 
in 1808, and was the guest of the second inquisitor during his 
stay. He found the institution in full blast ; and his host, in ad- 
mitting the truthfulness of the narative of Dellon, a former pris- 
oner of the Holy Office in Goa, confirmed the common reputation 

* Limborch, 480-1. Rule's " History of the Inquisition," p. 270. 
f Limborch, p. 461. 




THE INQUISITION OF PIUS IX. 427 

of the inquisition as the most dreadful scourge that cursed any 
people. * Though the inquisition was abolished by Napoleon in 
Spain, it was re-established by Ferdinand YII., July 21st 1814, 
when for many years it continued to perform its odious work. 



The Inquisition in Borne in 1848. 

fWhen the doors of this diabolical institution were forced m 
r849, t Father Gavazzi, the well known chaplain general to the 
Roman army, says that, "He found in one of its prisons a furnace 
and the remains of a woman's dress ; that everything combined to 
persuade him that it was used for horrible deaths, and to consume 
the bodies of victims of inquisitorial hate. He saw betAveen the 
great hall of judgment and the apartment of the chief jailer a 
deep trap, a shaft opening into the vaults under the inquisition. 
As soon as the prisoner confessed his offence, he was sent to the 
Father Commissary to receive a relaxation of his punishment. 
With the hope of pardon he approached the apartment of the 
holy inquisitor, but in the act of setting his foot at the entrance, 
the trap opened, and the world of the living heard no more of 
him. He examined some of the matter in the pit below this trap; 
and he found it to be composed of common earth, rottenness, ashes, 
and human hair, fetid to the smell and horrible to the sight of the 
beholder. He says popular fury reached its greatest height at the 
cells of St. Pius V. To reach them you must descend into the vaults 
by very narrow stairs, and along a corridor, equally cramped, you 
approach the separate cells, which for smallness and stench, are a 
hundred times more horrible than the dens of lions and tigers in 
the Colosseum. Looking around he discovered a cell full of 
skeletons without skulls, buried in lime. The skulls detached 
from the bodies, had been collected in a hamper by the visitors. 
These persons never died a natural death; they were doubtless 
immersed in a bath of slaked lime gradually filled up to their 
necks, the lime, by little and little, enclosed the sufferers or walled 
them up all alive. The torment was extreme but slow. As the 
lime rose higher and higher, the respiration of the victims became 



* " Christian Researches in Asia," p. 91. Philada., 1813. 
f Rule's " History of the Inquisition," pp. 430, 431. 



428 PIUS IX. CANONIZES AN INQUISITOR. 

more and more painful, because more difficult. So that with the 
suffocation of the smoke, and the anguish of a compressed breath- 
ing, they died in a manner most horrible and desperate. Some- 
time after death the heads would naturally separate from their 
bodies and roll away into the hollows left by the shrinking of the 
lime. So great, says he, are the atrocities of the inquisition, that 
they would more than suffice to arouse the detestation of a thou- 
sand worlds. He adds : " The Eoman inquisition is under the 
shadow of the Vatican palace, and its prefect is the pope in per- 
son." Pius IX., lauded for his liberality and fatherly benevolence, 
kept this accursed institution at work until chased from Rome by 
his enraged subjects ; and he left victims in it when he fleoTy 

Under the liberal sway of Victor Emmanuel, the inquisition is 
dead in Rome beyond the hope of resurrection. The reign of his 
son in Spain will render its existence impossible in that country. 

We suspect that the destruction of the inquisition arose from 
jealousy — the jealousy of Satan. He cannot bear the superiority 
of another. And when he saw that the Holy Office far surpassed 
him in cunning, malignity, and all the other attributes of devil- 
hood, he was mortified, indignant, and bent on mischief. He first 
tried to overtake the Holy Office in its career of cunning, cruel 
wickedness ; but thoroughly beaten on his own gi'ound, and in his 
own business; and convinced of the hopelessness of such efforts, he 
resolved to destroy the favorite instrument of St. Dominic. Je- 
hovah, who for wise reasons permitted its monstrous birth, for pur- 
poses of love ordained its destruction. And Satan was allowed to 
extinguish his rival ; and to stand for the future unequalled in 
atrocious deeds. 

Pius IX. canonizes one of the most barbarous of all the Inquisitors. 

r On the 14th of September, 1485, Pedro Arbues, an inquisitor 
in Spain, went to the cathedral of Saragossa to attend matins.* He 
had a steel skullcap under his hat, and a coat of mail beneath his 
robes ; he carried a lantern and a club, the one rendered needful 
by the darkness, and the other by his ferocious cruelties. As he 
knelt, he grasped his weapon. Two Spaniards were soon on their 

* Rule's "History of the Inquisition," p. 103. 



J 



MANY CATHOLICS UNFRIENDLY TO THE INQUISITION. 429 

knees beside him, and Pedro, not watching, as was his common 
custom when praying, unexpectedly received a few vigorous blows, 
which quickly sent him from judging in an earthly tribunal to 
stand as a crimson offender at the bar of a holy God. The world 
seldom rejoiced in the death of a more brutal tyrant. 

In 1866, Pius IX. canonized this execrable wretch, and thereby 
elevated him to the highest rank among Catholic saints. Pedro 
now is a prayer-hearing intercessor, and is doubtless addressed by 
large numbers in their supplications. And as Pius IX. is infalli- 
ble, he must know the crimes which this felon committed ; the 
hideous iniquities for which his honest Catholic neighbors slaugh- 
tered him as they would have killed a wild beast; and if he is really 
unerring, he approves of miscreants like Pedro Arbues ; and of the 
bloody deeds by which outraged men have been stirred up to slay 
them. J 

In its early Days many Catholics resisted the Inquisition. 

In Parma the inhabitants rescued a woman from the stake, dis- 
persed the executioners, sacked the Franciscan convent, and lashed 
every friar whom they could catch, belonging to the Holy Office. 
The whole people were shocked at the thought of burning their 
fellow citizens. "The hatred,^^ says Llorente,* " which the office 
of an inquisitor everywhere inspired in the first ages of the Holy 
Office, caused the death of a great number of Dominicans, and some 
Cordeliers.'^ The most violent and barbarous laws were made by 
many princes to sustain the inquisition, but as in after ages, so at 
the beginning, the inquisitors were generally inhuman, impious, 
ignorant, fanatical, envious, and rash, and they and their Holy 
Office were driven from a great number of places by the populace ; 
and their lives sacrificed as if they had been bandits or pirates ; and 
this not commonly the work of Protestants, but of true men of 
their own faith. It is well to remember that the inquisition was 
the creation of priests, and though Charles Y., Philip IL, and 
Frederic II. gave it all the holy and accursed aid which powerful 
rulers could render any institution, for a long while the Catholic 
masses regarded it as a wicked scourge. 



* Llorente's " History of the Inquisition," p. 14. Philada. 1843. 



430 INDUSTRY OF THE HOLY OFFICE. 

No other Inquisition ever existed, 

f You will search in vain among the musty records of the past, 
over all the lands and all the ages, for another inquisition. The 
Romish Church stands alone in having a legal tribunal expressly 
established to tortare, and if desirable, to kill her enemies. Mo- 
hammedanism has persecuted Christians at times, but never as 
Rome has done ; and at no period had it a tribunal, with a staff 
of officers, suits of prisons, and codes of laws devoted exclusively 
to the enemies of their prophet. The ten persecutions of pagan 
Rome were very violent, but they were spasmodic, temporary, 
based in some instances upon falsehoods which persecution ex- 
ploded ; and they could not well have been protracted longer than 
the period which they cursed. But Nero and Domitian had no 
holy office, devoted to the work of discovering and destroying 
heretics.y It is doubtful if heathen Rome could have furnished 
enough men of the kind, out of which inquisitors, familiars, and 
the other servants of the Holy Office were made, to man an inquisi- 
tion of the .papal order for twenty successive years. It is more 
than probable that no system of idolatry, and no form of Christi- 
anity, could have produced and engineered such a prodigy of 
wickedness. While the papal Church has had gifted and noble 
men in her sacerdotal ranks ; among her monks, and sometimes in 
the list of her pontiffs, she has had a Dominic and a Carraffa (Paul 
IV.), men who seemed to possess something additional to human 
nature, and that increase most evidently did not come from heaven. 
And of this class of extra-ordinary mortals, she had enough to 
work the Holy Office for centuries. We could wish that the race 
was extinct. 

Industry of the Holy Office. 

The inquisition in Spain moved in its operations with unbounded 
vigor. Dvery night its armies of familiars scoured the households 
of the nation, taking large numbers out of their beds, just aroused 
out of sleep, to the dismal dens of the Holy Office. Every 
day the inquisitors were engrossed with the audience room, . the 
torture chamber, or an Auto da Fe. Every hour the spies of the 
inquisition were dogging the steps of those whom they Nvished to 



BENEFITS CONFEERED BY THE INQUISITION. 431 

entrap ; watching unfortunate Jews, Moors, and their descendants; 
they were carrying off fans and snuff-boxes, bearing pictures of 
lieathen classic gods, Hebrew Bibles, and Greek Testaments, and 
literary books deemed heretical, because the inquisition and its 
menials were commonly too ignorant to distinguish between the 
sinless creations of genius and wicked works only filled with the 
sufferings and love of Jesus. In the six hundred years of its exist- 
ence, the inquisition in Spain and in other countries sacrificed my- 
riads of lives with the most atrocious cruelties ; it has racked many 
millions more, and the torture was generally applied to the very 
utmost verge of life, the physician hired by the Holy Office 
holding the patient by the wrist to discover the exact amount of 
agony he could bear without destroying existence. It has crip- 
pled millions whom it set at liberty, some of whom it declared 
innocent after planting its pains all over their bodies; it has 
robbed its victims of property, for the sake of which exclusively 
prosecutions frequently began, too great to be represented by 
figures. And when we try to conceive the woes of its lonely victims 
in their dark cells ; the anguished hearts of loved ones who could 
hear nothing of them ; the terror and pain of the hall of tortures ; 
the slavery of the galleys ; the whipping through the streets ; the 
infamy of wearing the sanbenito ; the penury and insults heaped 
on the children and grandchildren of victims — the aggregate im- 
perfectly imagined, shocks and horrifies us, and we are aston- 
ished that a column of fire from heaven did not burn up each 
Holy Office and its wicked tyrants the moment persecution was 
proposed. 

Advantages of the Holy Office. 

The inquisition accomplished some good. Of an irritable man, 
a certain person said to his enemy : " Do not be too severe with 
him, he is useful for one thing, he is capital for trying patience 
and strengthening it, and finding out where there is any." So 
the inquisition has exhibited some of the finest specimens of 
Christian heroism in the annals of earth or the records of heaven. 
In its court room and torture hall, and at its executions, lights 
were uncovered that have flashed over Christendom ; that shall 
flood all time ; lights which blinded the eyes of inquisitors and 



432 BENEFITS CONFEREED BY THE INQUISITION^. 

executioners, and which have enabled timid Christians to see their 
Master's blood, love and power, and read their title clear to man- 
sions in the skies. Thousands, and tens of thousands of the saints 
of Jesus, like Maria Bohorques, showed the utmost contempt for 
suffering ; the most extraordinary love for the crucified One ; the 
possession of a heaven-given faith which bone-breaking racks 
could not crush, nor blazing faggots waste. Like the swimming 
cork, which floats on the brook a few inches deep, and upon the 
crest of the greatest wave that ever rode in angry majesty over 
ocean beds, too deep for a created fathoming line ; so in the light 
displayed by the woes of the inquisition, the Christian sees a 
faith that will float him over the shallow^ waters of common trou- 
bles, and on the highest peak of the mightiest mountain billow of 
distress that ever rolled in threatening fury over the ocean of life. 
But in view^ of its horrors may we not well ask : 

Where was thine arm, O vengeance ? where the rod 
That smote the foes of Zion and of God ? 
That crushed proud Amnion when his iron car 
Was yoked in wrath, and thundered from afar. 



THE SCRIPTURES. 

The early Christians cherished the Bible next to the Saviour; 
and they used extreme caution to protect it from uninspired addi- 
tions. Their jealousy on this account prevented them, for a consider- 
able period, from receiving the Second Epistle of Peter,* the Second 
and Third Epistles of John, the Epistle of Jude, the book of 
Eevelations, and the Epistle to the Hebrews, as parts of the 
inspired writings. Not a few forged documents, claiming divine 
authority, compelled the primitive Church to be very careful about 
the works, regarded as the Word of Jehovah. But neither the 
Apocrypha of the Old Testament, nor the pretended Gospels and 
Epistles of the New, found a place in the Bible of the early 
Church. 

The Sacred Canon, 

Josephus gives the Old Testament books, regarded as inspired 
in the Saviour's day. According to his testimony they are : f 
" The five books of Moses, which contain his laws and the tradi- 
tions of the origin of mankind, till his death. This interval of 
time was little short of three thousand years. But as to the time 
from the death of Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes, King of 
Persia, who reigned after Xerxes, the prophets who were after 
Moses wrote down what was done, in their times, in thirteen 
books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God and 
precepts for the conduct of human life. It is true our history has 
been written since Artaxerxes very particularly, but has not been 
esteemed of like authority with the former by our forefathers, because 
there has not been an exact succession of prophets since that time.'' 
These are substantially the Old Testament and the apocrypha of 

* Eusebius, lib. iii. cap. xxv. \ Joseplius, vol. ii. book i. 8. 

28 433 



434 cmcuLATioN of the scriptuees. 

Protestants; the former worthy of all reverence, the latter as 
Josephus intimates, uninspired. 

Melito, Bishop of Sardis,"^ in the second century, has the same 
books in his Old Testament canon, which we have, except Nehe- 
raiah, Esther, and Lamentations; the two first of which, he 
probably included in Ezra, and the last in Jeremiah. The cata- 
logue of Origen is almost the same, f 

Abeut the beginning of the fifth century the New Testament as 
it is now, and the Old, with a little hesitation about one or two 
apocryphal books, were received by the churches everywhere. 

Scripture Circulation, 

Scarcely had the Saviour entered heaven, when his disciples 
began the work of Scripture translation and circulation. And 
when we consider their limited means, and the absence of organ- 
ized effort among them, their success is astonishing. In the first 
century the Syrian version, known as the Peshito, was made for the 
Jews of Palestine. About the same time a Latin translation was 
made for the people of Italy. And versions in the tongue of Old 
Rome followed each other with such rapidity that Augustine says : 
"Those who have translated the Bible into Greek can be num- 
bered, but not so the Latin versions, for in the first ages of the 
Church Avhoever got hold of a Greek codex ventured to translate 
it into Latin, however slight his knowledge of either language.^^ { 

Jerome, in the latter part of the fourth century, at the request 
of many prominent men, undertook to correct the most popular 
Latin versions of the New Testament, and to make a new trans- 
lation of the Old. His work is known as the Latin Vulgate,- and 
was made in the mother tongue of the people for whom it was 
intended. 

A translation was made into the Coptic tongue for the people 
of Egypt in the third century. 

A version was prepared in the fourth century, in the sacred 
language of the ^Ethiopians, called the Gees. 

A Persian translation was completed about the same time. 

* Eusebius, lib. iv. cap. xxvi. f Id., lib. vi. cap. xxv. 

X De Doct. Christ., ii. 11. 



I 



ITEWBORN HATRED TO THE WORD OF GOD. 435 

Ulfila, after inventing the Gothic alphabet, A. D. 375, translated 
the Scriptures into the language of that nation.* 

Pantfeus, a distinguished Christian, on a visit to India, found 
disciples in that country with the gospel of Matthew in Hebrew.! 

The Bible was given, in their own tongue, to Georgians, in the 
sixth century, and to the Armenians a little later. 

The early Christians, when a portion of any nation received the 
Gospel, immediately made a translation of the Scriptures into their 
language ; so that the Divine Word, as early as the fourth century, 
was circulated through all nations, '^ Greek and barbarian, and 
studied by them as the oracles of God.'' J No age of Bible distri- 
bution has ever exceeded the first four centuries, if it has ever 
equalled them, taking their disadvantages into account. 

Alcuin, at the request of Charlemagne, corrected the Yulgate 
for use in his empire ; and, by presenting him with a copy on the 
anniversary of his accession to the throne, A. D. 801, gave him ex- 
quisite delight. § 

Holy Bede translated John into English in the eighth century 
for the benefit of his countrymen. || 

Hatred of the Bible. 

Passing over centuries of gross and ever-growing darkness in 
the churches. East and West, when Christ was obscured by the 
glories of Mary, we meet another kind of Christians who dislike 
the Bible. 

In Toulouse, the sacred writings began to enjoy some circulation 
and much love, in the early part of the thirteenth century. The 
clergy took the alarm, and, at a council held there A. D. 1229, in 
the fourteenth canon, they " prohibited laymen to have the books 
of the Old or New Testament, unless a Psalter, a Breviary, and a 
Rosary, and they forbade their translation in the vulgar tongue J^ T[ 
Possibly, a majority of the ecclesiastics at the synod supposed that 
the Breviary and Kosary, as well as the Psalter, were inspired 
writings. 

* Socrates, lib. iv. cap. xxxiii. f Ensebius, lib. v. cap. x. 

X Bingham's "Antiquities," book xiii. chap. iv. sec. 5. 
§ Neander, iii. 155. | William of Malmesbuiy, lib. i. cap. iii. 

1 Du Pin, vol. ii. p. 456. Dublin, 1734. 



436 

What a change from the days of Augustine, when he importuned 
his friend Jerome to correct the versions in the Latin or vernacu- 
lar tongue, that the people might have the whole truth as God 
gave it ! 

John Wycliffe, an English priest, gave his countrymen the 
Bible in their native language in A. D. 1380. His preaching and 
writings produced a profound sensation, and his supporters' were 
numerous. The soldiers, the knights, the nobles, and the thinkers 
of the nation, who had no pecuniary interest in the corrupt state 
of the Church, were his sturdy friends. His Bible was productive 
of immediate and extensive results. Among the clergy, its ap- 
pearance excited indignation. A canon of Leicester said : "^ 
'^Master John Wycliffe has translated the Gospel out of Latin 
into English, which Christ had entrusted to the clergy and doctors 
of the Church, that they might minister it to the laity, and the 
weaker sort, according to the state of the times and the wants of 
men. So that by this means the Gospel is made vulgar^ and laid 
more open to the laity, and even to women who can read, than it 
used to be even to the most learned of the clergy, and those of the 
best understanding. And what was before the chief gift of the 
clergy and doctors of the Church is made forever common to the 
laity.^' 

In this spirit the clergy lashed the passions of the people 
against Wycliffe, and had not the powerful Duke of Lancaster 
and some influential persons protected him, he would have been 
slain. But after his death the Council of Constance tried and 
condemned him, and issued the following decree : f ^'Wherefore, 
the procurator-fiscal, being urgent, and the edict having been set 
forth, for hearing sentence on this day, this holy synod declares, 



* Anderson's "Annals of the English Bible," Introd. p. 21. K Y., 1849. 

f Propterea instante procuratore tiscali, edictoque proposito ad audien- 
dum sententiam ad hanc diem ; hsec sancta synodus declarat, diffiuit, et sen- 
tential, eumdem Joannem WicklefF fuisse notorium haereticum pertinacem, ac 
in hgeresi desessisse, anathematizando ipsum pariter et suam niemoriam 
condemnando. Decernitque et ordinat, corpus et ejus ossa (si abaliis lideli- 
bus corporibus discern! possunt) exhumari, et procul ab ecclesise sepultiira 
jactari, secandum canonicas et legitimas sauctiones. — Cone. xii. 49, Labbe 
and Cossart. 



THE WORD OF GOD EMBRACES MORE THAN THE BIBLE. 437 

defines and records, that the same John Wycliffe was a notorious 
and pertinacious heretic, and that he died in heresy, by anathema- 
tizing him, and condemning his memory/^ 

And it decrees and ordains '' that his body and bones (if they can 
be distinguished from tlie other bodies of the faithful) be dug up 
and cast aicay from the Churches burying place, according to the 
canonical and legitimate appointments.'' In pursuance of this 
decree some time after, the bones of the great translator were dug 
up and publicly burned! 

The Bible of a Pope condemned. 
Sixtus v., a pope of formidable powers, published a Bible in 
Italian with a bull in the preface recommending its general read- 
ing, and declaring the advantages which would result from its 
perusal. Llorente tells us that after the death of Sixtus it was 
solemnly condemned by the Spanish inquisition. Even his in- 
fallibility could not save it.* 

The Council of Trent, 
This famous ecclesiastical assembly issued decrees about the 
materials composing the Word of God, and the manner of treat- 
ing the Bible unknown to any council ever gathered in Christen- 
dom. In the Catholic Church its decisions have received a meas- 
ure of reverence never accorded to the decrees of any other eccle- 
siastical convention. It makes the 

APOCRYPHA AND ALL THE UNWRITTEN TRADITIONS OF THE 
CHURCH OF EQUAL AUTHORITY WITH THE SCRIPTURES. 

The following is the decree : " The Holy CEcumenical and Gen- 
eral Synod of Trent, lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit, the 
same three legates of the Apostolical See presiding, having always 
in view this object, namely, that all errors being removed, there 
might be preserved in the Church the purity of the gospel ; which 
was promised before by the prophets in the Holy Scriptures, but 
which our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did with his own 
mouth first declare, and afterwards order to be preached to every 
creature, by his apostles, as the source of all saving truth and 

* Llorente's 'History of the Inquisition," p. 129. Philada, 1843. 



438 CATHOLIC SCRIPTURES. 

moral discipline, and perceiving that this truth and discipline are 
contained in written books and in univritten tradition, which being 
received by the apostles from the mouth of Christ himself or frora 
the Holy Spirit dictating to the apostles, has reached even to us, as 
though it were transmitted by hand, following the examples of 
the orthodox fathers, receives and venerates with the same affection 
and reverence, all the books both of the Old and of the New Testa- 
ment, since one God is the author of both, and also traditions them- 
selves relating both to faith and morals, which have been, as it were, 
orally declared either by Christ or by the Holy Spirit, and preserved 
by continual succession in the Catholic Church. It has thought fit, 
moreover, to annex to this decree a list of the sacred books, that no 
doubt may occur to any one as to what are received by the synod. 
They are the underwritten : of the Old Testament, five of Moses, 
to wit, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy ; 
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four of Kings, two of Chronicles, the first 
of Ezra, and the second, which is called Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, 
Esther, Job, the Psalter of David of a hundred and fifty psalms, 
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Wisdom, Ecclesiastus, 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, with Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, twelve lesser 
prophets, to wit, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Na- 
hum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, Malachi, two of 
Maccabees, the first and seconcV The Catholic canon for the 
New Testament is the same as our own. 

" But if any one shall not receive these books entire, with all 
their parts, as they are wont to be read in the Catholic Church, and 
in the old Latin vulgate edition, for sacred and canonical, and shall 
knowingly and intentionally despise the traditions aforesaid; let him 
be accursed.^^ * 

Such is the revelation recognized by the Roman Church : The 
Holy Scriptures ; and the apochryphal books bridging the chasm 
between the New and Old Testaments, not regarded as of divine 
authority by Josephus, the Jews, the Saviour, or the early Chris- 
tians, a batch of writings supposed to have been put in the sacred 
canon at Trent to give Catholics something like scriptural autho- 
rity for making prayers and offerings for the dead. When Judas 

* Canones et Decreta Cone. Trld., pp. 15, 16. Lipsiae, 1863. 



HOME AND THE SCRIPTURES. 439 

Maccabeus, the celebrated Jewish captain, came to bury some of 
his own men, who had fallen in battle, he found under their coats 
things consecrated to idols, and he '^ made a gathering throughout 
the company amounting to the sum of two thousand drachms of 
silver, and he sent it to Jerusalem to offer up a sin-offering, doing 
therein very well and honestly in that he was mindful of the 
resurrection ; for if he had not hoped that they that were slain 
would have risen again, it had been superfluous and vain to 'pray 
for the dead. Wherefore he made a reconciliation for the dead that 
they might be delivered from sin.'^ 2 Maccab. xii. 43-45. Here is 
purgatory, and here are prayers and masses for the dead. Little 
wonder that '^ some in the Council of Trent said,* that tradition 
was the only foundation of the Catholic doctrine/^ for it or any other 
folly can be found in tradition. But no doctrine in which Catho- 
lics differ from Evangelical Protestants can be found in the Bible. 
And not only is the Apocrypha placed on the same footing as the 
Bible, but every tradition supposed to have been handed down 
from the Saviour or his apostles is placed on the same basis. 

We would not believe an " unwritten tradition '^ that pretended 
to come down from Cicero, Horace, or Sallust. The changes which 
any statement must undergo, in passing through many hundreds of 
men, running over eighteen centuries, without a well known record 
to correct and protect it, are immense. Any statement resting 
upon such a basis is destitute of the faintest claim upon human 
credulity. 

The Vulgate the only recognised Bible of the Catholic Church. 

The decree of the Council of Trent is : f " Moreover the same 
Holy Synod decrees and declares, that this same Old Vulgate 
edition which has stood the test of so many ages' use in the Church, 
in public readings, disputings, preachings and expoundings, be 
deemed authentic, and that no one on any pretence dare or presume 
to reject it.^' 

* Sarpi's ' History of the Council of Trent," p. 150, London, 1629. 

f Insiiper eadem sacrosancta sy nodus, statuit et declarat, ut hgec ipsa 
vetus et Yulgata editio, quae longo tot saeculorum usu in ipsa ecclesia probata 
est, in publicis lectionibus, disputationibus, praedicationibus, et expositioni 
bus, pro authentica habeatur, et ut nemo illam rejicere quovis praetextu 
audeat vet praesumat. — Canones ei Becreta^ p. 17. Lipsiae, 1863. 



440 HOME AND THE SCRIPTURES. 

When the Council of Trent authenticated the Vulgate it was 
full of errors. Neglected for centuries ; handed down by ignorant 
copyists, its mistakes were so numerous and glaring that the 
council itself, immediately after recognizing its paramount claims, 
appointed a committee of six to correct it ; and it urged them to 
hasten the work that it might be completed before the synod 
adjourned.* 

By " authentic '^ the fathers of Trent understood that the Vul- 
gate was the only Bible which the Church solemnly recognized as 
the Word of God. And since the decree of Trent the Romish 
denomination has had no Bible but the Vulgate ; translations in 
modern languages may receive the approval of individual bishops, 
but they are destitute of Church authority. Even the Vatican 
codex, confessedly the most valuable copy of the Scriptures in 
existence, has no ecclesiastical recognition in the Catholic com- 
munion. 

The Church of the Popes prohibits private Judgment, and settles the 
Meaning of every Scripture for all 3fen. 

The decision of the Council of Trent is : "And also for the 
restraint of wanton wits, it decrees that in matters of faith and 
morals pertaining to the edifying of Christian doctrine, no one 
relying on his own prudence shall dare to interpret the Holy Scrip- 
ture, twisting it to his own meaning against the sense which Aos 
been and is held by Holy Mother Church, to whom it belongs to 
judge concerning the true sense and interpretation of Scripture, nor 
against the unanimous consent of the fathers, even though such 
interpretations should never be published. Let those who shall 
act contrary to this decree be denounced by the ordinaries, and 
punished with the penalties rightly appointed.^' f 

Truly here is comfort. The whole Christian world, in Bible 
reading, are to be bound in soul, in every faculty, and must take 
Rome's interpretations of all Scripture, or the dreamy contradic- 
tions and absurd follies of the fathers. No man on the Bible must 
exercise his reason. 

* Sarpi's " History of the Council of Trent " p. 159. London, 1629. 
t Sess. iv., p. 17, Canones et Decreta Cone. Trid. Lipsise, 1863. 



ROME AND THE SCRIPTURES. 441 

JEven a Catholic Bible in the Vulgate Tongue is prohibited without 
a Special Licence, 

A large committee of the Council of Trent composed ten " Rules 
for prohibited Books/^ These laws were confirmed by Pius IV., 
March 24th, 1564, and from them the infamous Index Expurga- 
torius derived its authoritative existence. The fourth rule is : * 
^' Since it is clear from experience, that if the holy Scriptures are 
everywhere indiscriminately permitted in the vulgar tongue, more 
detriment than profit arises therefrom by reason of the rashness of 
men. In this matter let it be at the option of the bishop or in- 
quisitor, so that with the advice of the parish priest, or the con- 
fessor, they can permit to them the reading of books translated by 
Catholic authors in the vulgar tongue, even to such persons, as in 
their judgment would incur no loss, but obtain an increase of 
faith and piety from this kind of reading, w^hich power they may 
have Avith respect to the Scriptures. But whosoever shall presume 
to keep or read them without such poiver, let him not be able to 
obtain the absolution of his sins until the books are returned to 
the ordinary. But the booksellers who shall sell the Bible, written 
in the vulgar tongue, to any one not having the aforesaid power, 
or who shall grant it in any other way, shall forfeit the price of 
the books that it may be converted by the bishop to pious uses ; 
and they shall be subject to other punishments at the discretion 
of the same bishop, according to the character of the crime. But 

* Quum experimento manifestnm sit, si sacra biblia vulgari lingua passim 
sine discrimine permittantur, plus iiide ob honiiniiin tenieritatem detrimenti 
quam utilitatis oriri, hac in parte jndicio episcopi ant inquisitoris stetur, ut 
cum consilio paroclii vel confessarii bibliorum a catholicis auctoribus verso- 
rum lectionem in vnlgari lingua eis concedere possint, quos intellexerint ex 
huiusmodi lectione non damnum, sed fidei atque pietatis augmentnm capere 
posse ; quam facultatem in scriptis habeant. Qui autem absque tali fcicultate 
ea legere sen habere prsesumpserit, nisi prius bibliis ordinario redditis pecca- 
tornm absolutionem percipere non possit. Bibliopolae vero qui praedictam 
facultatem non liabenli biblia idiomate vulgari conscripta vendiderint vel alio 
quovis modo concesserint, librorum pretium in nsus pios ab episcopo conver- 
tendum aftiittant, aliisqne poenis pro delicti qualitate eiusdem episcopi arbi- 
trio subjaceant. Regulares vero non nisi facultate a praelatis suis habita ea 
legere autemere possint. — Regula iv. de Lib. ProMb,. Conones et Becreta Gone. 
Trid., p. 232. Lipsiae, 18G3. 



442 HOME AND THE SCRIPTUEES. 

regulars may not read or buy them unless they have obtained 
authority from those placed over them/^ 

Richard of Mans declared in the Council of Trent, that the 
doctrines of faith were now so cleared, that we ought no more to 
learn them out of Scripture, which, it is true, was read heretofore 
in the Church for the instruction of the people, whereas, now it is 
read in the Church only to pray, and ought to serve every one for 
this end only, and not to study. But at the least, the study of 
it should be prohibited to every one that is not first confirmed in 
school divinity.'^ * One sometimes is inclined, when he examines 
such a decree, and such a saying, to ask : Are these the utterances 
of the Pi'ince of Darkness and his spirit friends, or the decisions of a 
conclave of infidels ? No doctrines more offensive to God could 
be broached in any quarter of the universe, however famed for the 
antiquity of its rebellion. The Bible in a Catholie translation is a 
Protestant and dangerous book in the hands of a Romanist, and 
the holy father and his shrewd friends must guard the papal sheep 
against such a book at all hazards. • ^N'either layman nor ecclesiastic 
in the Church of the Fisherman can be safely entrusted with a 
book intended for the perusal of the world ; the first part of 
which was written in Hebrew, the vernacular of the Jewish people 
when the Spirit gave it ; and the second in Greek, a language un- 
derstood in Palestine, Syria, Italy and Greece, when it was 
penned ; at the time the most extensively spoken language among 
the tongues of our race. 

A few years since, Mr. Seymour, an English clergyman, the 
author of the well-known work, " Mornings among the Jesuits 
at Pome," sought to purchase a Bible in the Eternal City. For 
this purpose he visited the book-shop belonging to the Propaganda 
Fide, the great missionary society of the Catholic Church ; then 
he went to that patronized by the pope ; to that connected with the 
Collegio Romano, and sustained by the order of Jesuits ; to that 
established for the English and other foreigners ; to those who sold 
old and second-hand books; to every bookselling establishment in 
Rome ; and " I found,'' says he, " that the Holy Scriptures were not 
for sale. And when I asked each bookseller the reason why he had 

* Sarpi, pp. 158-9. London, 1629. 



EOME AND THE SCRIPTUEES. 443 

not such an important volume, the answer was : ^ It is pro- 
hibited.' '' * 

The only Bible he could find in Rome was Martini's, in twenty- 
four volumes, at a cost of four pounds, or twenty dollars. 

Before the Commissioners of Education appointed by the 
Government for Ireland, it was stated in evidence, that of the four 
hundred students for the priesthood, attending Maynooth College, 
only ten had Bibles or Testaments, while everyone had a copy of 
the works of the Jesuits Bailey and Delahogue.f 

What a strange sight the Church of Christ presents, in banish- 
ing the Bible from her schools, colleges, and churches ! This is 
not the Church of Jerome, who spent so much time and toil in per- 
fecting and translating a Bible in the vulgar tongue. Nor of the 
early fathers, who made translations for every country where the gos- 
pel was received. The Church of the Bible-haters, which has 
burned Bibles and those who translated them, and myriads who 
read them, had no representatives in Christ's day, nor for centu- 
ries afterward. 

* Seymour's "Mornings among the Jesuits," p. 132. 

t " Ireland in 1846-7," by Philip Dixon Hardy, M. R I. A., p. 33. 






THE FOUR GREAT FOUNDERS OF MONKISH 
INSTITUTIONS. 

It is certain that in the second century some began to accept the 
doctrine that to give up business, society, and matrimony, and lead 
a solitary life, in meditation and prayer, was the holiest earthly 
state. And from that time the conviction spread with amazing 
rapidity, and fell, with overpowering force upon the consciences of 
men. In the beginning of the fourth century there were many 
thousands of monks in the deserts of Egypt, and in the caves 
along the banks of the Nile. The life of an Eremite in that day 
was regarded as possessing an order of sanctity beyond anything 
else in the Church of God. 

Antony the Great, of an illustrious family of Coma, near Hera- 
clea in Egypt, was the great chief of all the monks in and around 
his country in the commencement of the fourth century. His influ- 
ence over these singular beings was unbounded ; and though they 
were under no law to obey him, yet his example and his instructions 
had almost the authority of a direct revelation among the entire 
unmarried brotherhood. Under his leadership their principles 
spread into churches ; seized and hurried off to the caves the 
young and frivolous and fashionable ; triumphed over all ob'^ta- 
cles and habits; over all the countries where Christianity was 
supreme ; and over the strongest instincts of human nature itself. 

And had it not been for Paphnutius, an Egyptian monkish 
bishop in the Council of Nice, Antony's celibacy would have 
doomed the whole Christian clergy to a single life. 

Antony was left an orphan when young ; he never could read 

or write ; he gave his inheritance to his native village ; and his 

personal effects to the poor ; he became acquainted with the most 

eminent men of his time, and even the emperor, who had frequently 

444 



FOUR GREAT MONKS. 445 

heard of his fame, wished to enjoy his society ; his food was bread 
and salt ; his drink was water ; and he never breakfasted before 
sunset. He often fasted for two or three successive days; he 
watched most of the night, and continued in prayer till daybreak ; 
he sometimes lay upon a mat, but generally upon the floor ; he 
never bathed himself ; he never suffered himself to be idle ; he 
zealously defended the oppressed, and frequently left the solitude 
for tlie city in their defence ; he could foresee the future ; he was 
honored by the whole people wherever he went, but he returned 
to the desert as soon as ever he could ; he was accustomed to say 
that " as fishes are nourished in the water, so the solitude is the 
world prepared for monks.^' * He was said to have contended 
with devils openly ; he performed many miracles ; Athanasius, of 
Trinitarian fame, was his warm friend, and wrote his biography. f 
Antony the Great established the monks on a foundation from 
which fifteen hundred years, and torrents of their iniquities, have 
only pai'tially dislodged them. Antony was the first great leader 
in the Christian Church, in the monastic crusade against the 
divinely planted instincts of human nature. 

BENEDICT OF NUESIA. 

This famous father of monks was born in Italy, A. D. 480. 
When fourteen, he was sent to Rome for his education, but soon 
ran to Sublacum forty miles ofP, where he lived in a gloomy cave 
for three years. The monks of a neighboring convent elected him 
their abbot, but soon becoming wearied with the severity of his 
discipline, they made it desirable for him to relinquish the position. 
He returned to the cave, where he was speedily joined by many 
monks who submitted to his rule ; and in a comparatively short 
time, he established twelve monasteries. After twenty-five years 
spent at Sublacum, he located on Mount Cassino, about fifty miles 
from Naples ; here he laid the foundations of an order that soon 
spread over all Europe, and carried the name of Benedict to the 
extreme limits of western civilization. There were many monks 
in the Latin Church before his day, but they were without system 
and had no element of permanence in their institutions. Benedict 

* Sozomen, lib. i. caD. xiii. f Socrates, lib. i. cap. xxi. 



446 . FOUR GEE AT MONKS. 

supplied what was lacking, and soon superb houses, filled wnth his 
sons, dotted every centre of Christian population among the west- 
ern nations. 

Benedicfs Rule. 

In the winter, his monks arose at two A. M. and went to the 
church, where, after spending some time in vigils, they continued 
till morning, committing psalms, reading, and in the exercise of 
private meditation. At sunrise, they assembled for matins ; after 
which they labored four hours, read two hours, then they dined 
and read in private till half-past two, when they met again for 
worship ; then they labored till vespers. Their work was agricul- 
ture, gardening, and various mechanical trades. They ate twice a 
day at a common table, first at noon, and then in the evening. To 
each was allowed one pound of bread, and a little wine for the day. 
On the public table there were two kinds of porridge, but no meat. 
Flesh was always allowed to the sick. At meals, conversation was 
prohibited, and some one always read aloud. They all served as 
cooks and waiters, each discharging the duty for a week at a time. 
Their clothing was coarse ; each was furnished with two suits, a 
knife, a needle, and other necessaries. They were allowed no con- 
versation after they retired, nor any jesting at any time. They 
had no correspondence with anyone except through the abbot. 
They slept in separate beds without undressing, in rooms accom- 
modating ten or twenty, with a light burning, and an inspector in 
each room. These were the leading, though not all the precepts 
of St. Benedict's rule. And while it was observed faithfully, his 
monks must have been like angels to the reckless, thieving, licen- 
tious, and even moderately moral people in whose midst they 
dwelt. 

Benedict, according to Gregory the Great, broke a glass with 
poison in it, by making the sign of the cross over it ; the poison 
being intended by some monks to kill him. He made the iron of 
a spade which fell into the water come up again and join the 
handle. These are but samples of the prodigies performed by this 
wonderful monk.* 

* Du Pin, i. 551-580. Mosheim, p. 322. London, 1848. 



FOUR GREAT MONKS. 447 



ST. DOMINIC. 

On the supposition that tlie title of Dominic was properly earned 
we have sometimes felt that similar deeds required us to confer it 
upon a well-known Roman emperor ; and to speak of him as Saint 
Nero. Dominic was born A. D. 1170, at Callahorra, in Spain. He 
was descended from the illustrious house of Guzman, received his 
education in Valencia, and his first appointment was a cauonry in 
Osma. Dominic had some mind, untiring activity, fierce cruelty, and 
a stern faith in a ferocious God. He gathered around him men of a 
spirit like his own, and instituted a new order of monks. Inno- 
cent III. promised to confirm his fraternity, but died before the 
documents were perfected. The papal approbation was given to 
Dominions monks by Honorius III., A. D. 1216. The new fra- 
ternity had great prosperity. Many learned men have flourished 
in its cloisters ; and were it not for the favorite child of Dominic 
and his monks, the inquisition, the world would have thought 
more favorably of him and his friars. 

ST. FRANCIS. 

This singular being came of a good family ; when he was con- 
verted, he renounced his paternal possessions, and laying aside his 
shoes, he put on the cowl and sackcloth. According to the monk 
Paris, he appeared at Rome, A. d. 1227, to obtain the recognition 
of an order of friars which he proposed to establish. Francis at 
that time had a sad countenance, untrimmed hair, and a dirty, 
overhanging brow. Innocent, if Paris was correctly informed, 
said to the future saint : " Go to the pigs, brother, roll with them, 
and to them present your rules.^' Francis rolled with the swine, 
until completely covered with dirt, and returning, claimed the 
pontiff's approval of his monks, on the ground of his obedience. 
The pope astonished at his appearance, and apparently caught by 
his reasoning, ordered him to cleanse himself, and soon after he 
gave his approval to the new monastic institution. 

Francis was a very zealous, if not a very cultivated preacher : 
in Rome, they regarded his oratorical efforts with contempt ; to 
rebuke them on one occasion he went to the suburbs of their city 



448 FOTJE GREAT MONKS. 

aDd gathered the " crows, kites, magpies, and some other birds, and 
commanded them to keep silent while he proclaimed to them the 
Word of the Lord • and they drew near, and without chirping, 
listened to him for half a" day.'' This circumstance, according to 
the same authority, gave him immediate and unbounded popularity 
in the Eternal City, throughout Italy, and all over Europe.* 

St. Francis was twenty-iive years of age when he was converted 
by a dream. His acts after this change were often like those of a 
lunatic. On one occasion, he broke a fast in his hunger, for which 
he had himself dragged naked through the streets and scourged, 
the announcement being made as he went along : ^^ See the glutton 
who gorged himself with fowl unknown to you." f 

Francis had a method in his madness ; and his order soon be- 
came one of the most powerful instruments in the papal Church. 

Antony, Benedict, Dominic, and Francis were the founders and 
fathers of all the leading monastic systems in the East, and in the 
West. 

* Matt. Paris, at a. d. 1237. 

t Michelet's " History of France," vol. i. p. 292. K Y., 1869. 



THE JESUITS. 

Never in the annals of the world has there been a body of 
men so small and yet so much dreaded. No warriors, no sect, no 
organized body of similar proportions has been credited with such 
numerous and, vast undertakings, or greeted with such continued 
showers of curses and bitter dislikes. We confess to a sort of ad- 
miration for the Jesuits ; not for their principles, nor for their 
master, nor for their practices, but for their towering intellects, 
their audacious effrontery, their unbounded self-denial, and their 
unparalleled supremacy in the enunciation of atrocious maxims 
under godly names. As Attila, Alexander, or Napoleon stand 
forth, with few equals, in the triumphs of butchery, master spirits 
impressing men with awe, so the Jesuits appear in the records 
of mental and other kinds of warfare, Alexanders, Attilas, Napo- 
leons, conquerors of sciences, of kings, of nations, of popes ; for 
a time the master spirits of the world ; then hurled from power, 
suppressed, scattered, sheltered in heretical countries from the 
wrath of the pontiff, and finally restored, and seizing supreme 
power in that Church which confiscated their possessions, and 
branded them with its heavy condemnation. 

Ignatius Loyola was the eighth son, and thirteenth child of 
Bertram, Lord of Ognez and Loyola in Spain. He was born a. 
D. 1491. He served as a page in the court of Ferdinand and Isa- 
bella for a short period. He was fond of a life of activity ; his 
crowning desire was to reach an excellence in something above 
that to which others attained. In his twenty-ninth year he was 
an officer in the Spanish army, and a war was raging between his 
country and France ; he was besieged in Pampeluna, and wounded 
in both legs, he fell in the breach made in the wall of the citadel. 

The French treated him with the greatest courtesy and huma- 
29 449 



450 THE JESUITS. 

nity. He was carefully sent to the home of his childhood, where 
loving attentions might soothe pain, and heal wounds. 

The broken leg was badly set; and as Ignatius had an excellent 
opinion of his handsome appearance, and a princess whose love 
he prized, he had it rebroken twice, and each time well set, as was 
supposed ; and on one occasion he had a piece of protruding bone 
sawed off, that he might be himself again a splendid cavalier. 

He wanted novels to entertain his lonely spirit during his long 
sufferings, but he found no books except " The Life of Christ," 
and " The Flowers of Sanctity .'' Ignatius reads and is converted ; 
he sacrifices everything to his new hopes, and with all the un- 
bending will of a resolute soldier he gives himself up to the 
claims of a new ambition. When he is able he g^oes to the altar 
of Our Lady of Montserrat, and there yields himself up to God 
as his only master in the future, and Mary as his only mistress. 
He hangs up his sword on the wall of the chapel ; and from that 
hour, as he viewed his course, he was entering upon a heavenly 
warfare where carnal weapons would be useless. 

He retired for some time to a secluded cave and gave himself 
up to penances, prayers and meditations. Here he had extraordi- 
nary revelations of the overflowing love of God ; and though he 
had been very ignorant of all religious things, in this cave he 
was " inspired with the most sublime science, so that he discoursed 
upon the great, the unspeakable mysteries of the' faith, in terms, 
and with a zeal that captivated and astounded the most learned 
theologians." And as the same Catholic writer says : ^^ It was 
in this retreat that the faithful servant of Jesus and Mary 
composed under inspiration (?) the ^ Spiritual Exercises,' a work 
which Francis de Sales said had converted more sinners than there 
were letters in it." * 

At thirty-three years of age he went to a Grammar School with 
children at Barcelona ; afterwards he studied at Alcala, Salamanca 
and Paris. He never reached a respectable grade of scholarship, 
and the " Spiritual Exercises " was his only literary production. 

Probably about this part of his life he was denounced to the 
Inquisition of Valladolid as one of the heretical Illuminati ; and 

* Daurignac's " Hist, of the Society of Jesus," vol. i. p. 5. Cincin., 1865. 



THE JESUITS. 451 

had he not fled to France he might have shared the cruel fate of 
many wiser and infinitely better men.* It does strike us as a 
little absurd that saint Ignatius Loyola should be making quick 
steps and long paces with the familiars of the inquisition after him. 
But realizing its great advantages, he was ever after an enthusi- 
astic admirer of that kind instrument of St. Dominic, designed to 
advance the service of the God of Love. 

THE SOCIETY OF JESUS. 

This order was solemnly confirmed on the 27th of September, 
1540, by Paul III. The society at first contained only ten per- 
sons, and was limited in the bull of confirmation to sixty. The 
principal motive which led to their establishment by the pontiff 
was the vow of " obedience to the Holy See, with the express obli- 
gation of going, without remuneration, to whatsoever part of the 
world it should please the pope to send them." They are under 
the law at this day. 

Loyola icas elected the first General of the Jesuits. 

After three days spent in prayer, Loyola received every vote but 
his own for the generalship ; but pretended that he was too modest 
for such vast responsibilities, and he declined it. After other days 
of prayer, he was elected again. Ignatius still protested against 
the choice. Heat last, however, agreed to leave the decision to 
his confessor. Father Theodosius,t of the Minor Brethren, by whose 
opinion the most cunning Spaniard of his day had an honor forced 
upon him, the conferring of which upon any one else would have 
broken his aspiring heart. 

Women refused Admittance into the Order. 

Three ladies insisted on being placed under the oversight of 
Loyola as nuns. One of them had been a benefactress of the gene- 
ral in other days ; but the gallant ex-soldier declared : That the 
direction of those three women gave him more trouble than the 

* Llorente's "History of the Inquisition," p. 135. Philada., 1843. 
t "Loyola," by Isaac Taylor, p. 154. K Y., 1849. 



452 THE JESUITS. 

government of a society which now spread itself over the surface 
of Europe. He fasted and prayed to be delivered from this 
burden, and then appealed to the Holy Father, who generously 
authorized Ignatius to dismiss the Lady Rosella and her two com- 
panions. * And from that time no nuns have been directly con- 
nected with the Jesuits. But another order, the nuns of the Sacred 
Heart, sprung up afterwards, with rules like the Jesuits. These 
ladies, according to Nicolini, f are now under the absolute direction 
of the sons of Loyola. 

The Motto of St. Ignatius and his Order. 

"Ad majorem Gloriam Dei :" for the greater glory of God. 
These words were inscribed by the first Jesuit on everything be- 
longing to his community, and they occupy the same place in that 
order still. Surely, if ever the saying of the celebratedTrenchman, 
that language was but a cloak to conceal the thoughts of men, 
was fully verified, it was in the use of such a motto by the Jesuits. 

Their Initiation and Membership. 

The candidate for membership in the order must have a "comely 
presence, youth, health, strength, facility of speech, and steadiness 
of purpose. Lukewarm devotion, want of learning, and of ability 
to acquire it, a dull memory, bodily defects, disease, and advanced 
age, render the postulant less acceptable.'^ J 

The Novices. 

The noviciate lasts two years, but it may be shortened or ex- 
tended at the generaFs pleasure. The novice must spend one 
month in spiritual exercises, another in one of the hospitals minis- 
tering to the sick, and another in wandering around, without 
money, and in begging from door to door. Novices must discharge 
the most servile duties of the house into which they have entered ; 
they are required to impart instruction in Christian learning to 



^ " Loyola," by Isaac Taylor, pp. 163-i. N. Y., 1849. 

f Nicolini's " History of the Jesuits," p. 74. London, 1854. 

t Id., p. 37. 



THE JESUIT3. 453 

boys or ignorant adults ; and when they have made some progress 
in these labors, they may preach and hear confessions. Before 
they are received into the order, they have to take its vows. 

The Scholars. 

Learning has ever been the highest ambition of the Jesuit. To 
reach this end, the order has schools wherever it exists. In these 
institutions the scholars are trained for the service of the society. 
The scholars in them are the APPROVED, who have passed 
their noviciate, and the RECEIVED, who are still on trial to test 
their ability to acc^uire learning. 

The Coadjutors. 

This class has tAvo sections, the temporal and the spiritual coad- 
jutors. The temporal coadjutors are never admitted to holy orders. 
They are the porters, cooks, stewards, and agents of the society. 
The spiritual coadjutors are priests. The rectors of colleges and 
the superiors of religious houses are chosen from this class. The 
coadjutors may assist in the deliberations of a general congregation, 
but they have no voice in the election of general. 

The coadjutors have to take a solemn obligation on assuming 
their place in the society, in which occur the words : "Before you, 
most reverend father. General of the Society of Jesus, holding the 
place of God, and your successors." The idea being that his voice 
is to command the obedience of the coadjutor, as if Jehovah ad- 
dressed him. 

The Professed. 

The professed are properly the Society of Jesus. These men 
must be priests, above twenty-five years of age, and persons of 
eminence in learning. Their admission is the immediate act of the 
general. They have to take a solemn obligation before the general 
and vice-general " holding the place of God.^^ To this class alone 
the more important affairs of the order are communicated. 

The General. 

This officer is elected for life by the general congregation. He 
must receive a majority of votes. The election is conducted in 



454 THE JESUITS. 

many respects like the formalities attending the choice of a pope. 
When the new general is proclaimed, the brethren fall down on 
both knees before him, and kiss his hand. 

Four assistants under him, but appointed by the general con- 
gregation, preside over the four divisions of the Jesuit world. 
An admonitor, elected by the same body, watches the general con- 
tinually ; and if he sees him swerving from duty, it is his business, 
after devout prayer, with great humility, to give him wholesome 
advice. The general is the most absolute master of his subjects on 
earth. There never was a ruler out of the throne of God invested 
with such despotical authority. * 

Laws for the Jesuits. 

The superior appoints a confessor for every Jesuit, to whom, at 
stated times, he must reveal the secrets of his heart. And while 
compulsory confession is always a crime, in ordinary cases in the 
Catholic Church, it is strictly confidential, under the heaviest 
penalties ; but, among the Jesuits, the confessor must report to his 
superior whatever may touch the reputation of an individual, or 
afford an index to his secret disposition, or feelings. For sins 
thus confessed there is no absolution till the superior has decided 
the question ; or, if it is of sufficient importance, the general him- 
self. In this way the devout penitent is kept in suspense and ter- 
ror about his absolution ; by the same means, the most perfect 
system of discovering the secrets of the whole order is in constant 
operation. For through the supposed wickedness of making a de- 
fective confession, the conscientious Catholic must tell everything. 
And the presumption is that this confessor is appointed from a 
knowledge of his special fitness to extract coveted information, f 

The Detective System of the Jesuits. 

Every Jesuit is bound to report whatever he may know or sus- 
pect relative to the conduct, the secret habits, or the concealed dis- 
positions of his brothers. From the highest to the lowest, each 
Jesuit is watched by his neighbor, and a report of his observations 

* Nicolini's "History of the Jesuits," pp. 46-54. London, 1854. 
t "Loyola," by Isaac Taylor, p. 338. New York, 1849. 



. 



THE JESUITS. 455 

and surmises is duly forwarded to his superior. The order is but 
a brotherhood of sacred DETECTIVES, with, perhaps, a well- 
grounded suspicion that each member needs watching; and the 
society is busy, in this way, destroying confidence, breaking up 
peace, and filling every heart in its horrible fraternity with appre- 
hension, grief, or terror.* 

Obedience among the Jesuits, 

In A. D. 1553, Ignatius addressed a letter on obedience to the 
Portuguese Jesuits, which is still an authoritative document in the 
society. " Obedience," says he in this epistle, ''is to be rendered 
to a superior, not on account of his wisdc*ai, goodness, or any other 
such qualities with which he may be endowed, but solely because 
he is in God's place, and wields the authority of him who says : 
' They that hear you, etc.^ " How apt the words of the poet : 

What damned error, but some sober brow 
Will bless it and approve it with a text ! 

Again : '' Take care that you never attempt to bend the will of 
your superior, which you should esteem as the will of God, to 
your own will." 

Again : " Among the heavenly bodies the lesser yield them- 
selves to the influence of the greater with perfect order and har- 
mony; and thus among men (Jesuits), should the inferiors allow 
themselves to be carried forward by the will of the superior, so 
that the virtue of the upper may permeate the lower spheres." 

Again : " You should not see in the person of the superior a 
man, liable to errors and to miseries, but Christ himself, who is 
wisdom in perfection." f 

This spirit of obedience, as if demanded by God himself, in the 
main, has governed the Jesuits. When Lainez was offered a car- 
dinal's hat, by Paul IV., a distinction which he richly deserved, 
for he was the ablest man in his day in the whole Catholic Church, 
in obedi<ince to the rules of his order, he refused the greatest honor 
in the Roman communion, except the popedom. J 

* " Loyola," by Isaac Taylor, p. 340. New York, 1849. 
t Id., pp. 272-80. t I^i-, P- 193. 



456 THE JESUITS. 

The Objects of the Society of Jesus. 

Several purposes which the founders of the society cherished 
are named in its official documents, but its grand business was TO 
FIGHT PHOTESTAXTISM. Whatever good will or hatred 
exists in Romanists towards Protestants, and we have seen both, 
the Society of Jesus is the only department in the papal Church 
existing avowedly to extirpate heresy. 

When Paul Y. wanted the Jesuits to undertake some choral 
service, from which their constitution relieved them, they strongly 
protested against such duties, and informed him that ^' Their 
society had been established to repel the injurious efforts of the 
heretics, to oppose the infernal stratagems which had been em- 
ployed to extinguish the light of Catholic truth ; and to resist the 
barbarous enemies of Christ, who w^re besieging the holy edifice 
of the Church, undermining it insensibly.'^ ^ The Jesui^ is a papal 
detective and warrior, born to fight the hosts of Protestantism. 
Xo system of religion under heaven has a body of ecclesiastical 
soldiers expressly intended to fight the enemies of its institutions 
except the papacy. But we do not blame it for its military 
priests ; what other religious communities do not require the pope- 
dom may need. 

Their modes of Working. 

Schools from the beginning were prime instrumentalities with the 
Jesuits. Xo American citizen regarding education as one of the 
chief bulwarks of his country's liberties, could take a livelier 
interest in the instruction of the young than the Jesuits. Only 
that with the disciples of Loyola, the question was not - the ex- 
tension of knowledge by proper agencies, but by Jesuits. For 
education imparted by others they cared not a jot ; but for instruc- 
tion imparted in their colleges they had the highest regard. It 
placed at their disposal abundant material out of which to select 
talented sons for Loyola; this was the primary cause of their 
enthusiasm as teachers. It gave them immense influence over the 
whole future of the young nobles and princes, whose culture they 
sought and imparted. And in their splendid schools they did, for 



*Nicolini's "History of the Jesuits," p. 147. 



I 



THE JESUITS. 457 

a long time, train up a large number of the future rulers of 
Europe, who cherished a profound regard for their teachers. 

Then, m their colleges an education was given, surpassing any 
Protestant institution accessible to large numbers of that faith ; 
and many parents who detested Romanism, on the assurance of 
the unctuous fathers that the faith of their sons would receive no 
interference, were confiding: enouo^h to entrust their dear ones to 
the training of men who were Jesuits, that they might fight 
Protestantism. 

They had the Faculty of making everything easy. 

They w^ere confessors, and the most popular that ever dealt in 
the foul secrets of their neighbors. Nearly every Catholic prince 
and princess in Europe, at one time, had one of these polished 
ecclesiastics to hear the record of his or her iniquities. The royal 
profligate and his mistress, the highhanded criminal of noble 
birth, the walking embodiment of all vices, had the popular con- 
fessor from the college of Loyola. His master had received in 
the cave at the commencement of his holy life the power of 
healing troubled consciences, and every follower of Ignatius in- 
herited the remedy. This balm was nothing else than treating 
enormous sins as if they were trifles, and granting absolution for 
them on condition that a slight penance should be performed. 

Jesuit Quotations in Pascal. 

" Henriquez and others of our fathers, quoted by Escobar, say 
that : It is perfectly right to kill a person who has given, us a box 
on the ear, although he should run away, provided it is not done 

through hatred or revenge And the reason is, that it is 

as lawful to pursue the thief who has stolen your honor, as the 
man that has carried ofi" your property.^' Duelling w^as common 
when this doctrine was invented. 

" Peter Navarre declares that, by the universal consent of the 
casuists, it is lawful to kill the calumniator if there be no other 
way of averting the afiront.^^ 

" Father Baldelle, as quoted by Escobar, says : You may law- 
fully take the life of another for saying: You have told a lie; if 
there is no other way of shutting his mouth." 



458 THE JESUITS. 

" Father Lamy says : An ecclesiastic or a monk may warrantably 
kill a monk or a defamer, who threatens to publish the scandalous 
crimes of his community, or his own crimes, when there is no 
other way of stopping him.'^ 

" Father Bauny says : A person asks a soldier to beat his 
neighbor, or to set fire to the barn of a man who has injured him. 
In the absence of the soldier is the man who employed him bound 
to make good the damage ? My opinion is that he is not. For 
none can be bound to make restitution where there has been no 
violation of justice ; and is justice violated by ashing another to do 
us a favor f " 

" Escobar says : Promises are not binding when the person in 
making them did not intend to bind himself.^' 

" Father Bauny says : Absolution may be given even to him 
who candidly avow^s, that the hope of being absolved induced him 
to sin with more freedom than he would otherwise have done." * 

Many other queer opinions about sin have been expressed by 
Jesuits ; the whole body seem necessarily involved in every pub- 
lication of one member, though we cannot believe that all Jesuits 
hold such sentiments. But it is certain that the men from whom 
Pascal quotes uttered the statements he presents as theirs. And 
it is easily seen that confessors who take away guilt from murder 
and falsehood, from lying, and iniquity, from sin in general, would 
be extremely welcome to sinners of all grades. 

At one period they were the spiritual directors of nearly all 
Catholic monarchs, and as a result had boundless influence over 
governments and nations. They Avere very gentle with converts. 
In India, Francis Nobili put on the dress and submitted to the 
penances endured by a Brahmin, and claimed to be a priest of that 
order sent to restore the " Fourth road to truth," long since lost. 
Heathen children were often baptized under pretence of giving f I 

them medicine, and their names registered as converts. In other 
baptisms they disguised the name of the cross, and the objects of 
the Catholic religion ; they allowed the women to wear the image 
of the god Taly around their necks, and share in other acts of 
idolatry. And so outrageously impious and heathenish did they 

♦Pascal's "Provincial Letters," pp. 161, 162, 166, 178, 200, 213. N. Y., 1850. 



THE JESUITS. 459 

become, that Clement XI. had to send the Patriarch of Antioch 
to examine into their proceedings ; who severely condemned their 
practices.* 

Their Insinuating Ways. 

The true Jesuit is a man of devout aspect. Not gloomy, not 
scornful, but presenting the appearance of holy and loving sim- 
plicity. The pictures of Loyola, Lainez, Xavier, Aquaviva, 
Ricci, La Chaise, and Francis Borgia, are before us. They look 
like saints of unusual spirituality of mind, men living above all 
selfish passions and earthly considerations. Their faces insinuate 
an idea of their sanctity and kindness. 

Then, when they met sin, their rebukes were gentle; they 
spoke kindly to the erring one ; seemed to be deeply interested in 
his welfare ; and if he offered any excuses for his sins they were 
instantly accepted. A secular priest or an ordinai:y monk would 
denounce the sinner, foretel the divine wrath, and perhaps show 
a little of their own ; but the sons of Loyola had only meek and 
loving words and looks for the worst of men, unless they w^ere 
heretics. The Protestant idea of a Jesuit is just the reverse of the 
impression he leaves on the masses of his Catholic acquaintances. 
To us he is full of ambition, treachery, and hatred ; to some Catho- 
lics he looks no better ; but to the masses of them he is a celestial 
lamb, more Christ-like than any other Roman priest. A minister 
well known to the writer, was once in conversation with a half in- 
toxicated Catholic whom he knew, and he was trying to persuade 
him to give up liquor. He spoke to him kindly. ^^ Why,^^ said 
the man, " you are a regular Jesuit, you treat me as if I were a 
man, as if you did not want to insult me. The secular clergy 
would tell me I was going to the pit, and would readily turn away 
from me, but the Jesuit always respects my feelings even though : 
I am not what I ought to be.'^ This was the course marked out 
for the sons of Loyola from the beginning. 

When the pope sent the Jesuits, Salmeron and Brouet, as his 
nuncios into Ireland, Ignatius, then living, gave them this coun- 
sel : '^ After having studied the character and manners of each 

* Nicolini's "Hist, of Jesuits," pp. 108, 110, 114-116. 



460 THE JESUITS. 

person, endeavor to conform yourself to them as much as duty 
will permit. When the Enemy attacks a just man, he does not let 
him see his snares, he hides them and assails him indirectly ; he 
entices him by degrees, and surprises him in his snares. Thus it 
is proper to follow a similar track to extricate men out of sin.^' 
How well the sons of Loyola have taken their father's advice and 
imitated the cunning of the Wicked One is so thoroughly knov/n, 
that it needs no comment. This pliability of disposition, this 
mightiest human development of the power of insinuation, has 
ever been a marvellous weapon with the Jesuits. 

Under the tyrannical reign of Louis XIV., the Jesuits moved 
the king like a puppet, by appearing to yield, by executing a 
number of hypocritical performances. 

They subscribed the articles of the Galilean Church to please 
the king, though they did not believe them. They refused to 
publish the bull of excommunication against the firstborn son of 
the Roman Church. They persuaded him that he would always 
remain a good Catholic, while they confessed and absolved him. 
And for tlieir consummate double dealing they had a full licence 
to persecute the Jansenists and Protestants. * 

The Spies of the Jesuits. 

The spies are a kind of fifth order, known only to the general 
and a few friends. Tliey are men of all ranks, and ladies in all 
positions of society. Though bound by no vows, they belong to 
the order. They are rewarded by good positions where the Jesuits 
have influence, by great liberality in pardoning their sins, or by 
money if it is needed. This class, mixing Avith all conditions of 
men, report the aifairs of the world to the followers of Ignatius, f 

The Jesuit is a man of several characters. The brethren have 
been very extensive merchants ; and some of them probably are 
still engaged in business. 

Possevin, a celebrated Jesuit, thinking that a blow could be 
successfiilly inflicted upon Protestantism in Sweden through the 
popish tendencies of John III., son of the great Gustavus Vasa, 

p. 268. fid., p. 40. 



THE JESUITS. 461 

instead of a papal legate, which he really was, entered Sweden 
under an assumed name and as the embassador of the widow of 
the Emperor Maximilian. 

Christina, the daughter of the renowned Gustavus Adolphus 
King of Sweden, was visited in her palace by two handsome young 
Italian nobleman, who stated that they were travelling for their 
improvement. These aristocratic young men were Jesuits, who 
led the apostate and unmarried daughter of a glorious father into 
the embraces of Rome. 

At the siege of Rome, when Pius IX. fled from- his loving chil- 
dren, one day a fine-looking man with beard and moustache was 
observed going from place to place, " praising the soldiers for their 
valor, encouraging the citizens not to desert their walls, and curs- 
ing the French, the Pope, and especially the Jesuits. One day 
some national guards perceived a kind of telegraph in a house, 
almost over the wall of the city, belonging to the Jesuits. They 
burst in and found three men making signals to the enemy. They 
were Jesuits, and one of them w^as the unknown man.''* So 
full of apparent patriotism w4ien in the company of the brave men 
defending old Rome against the pope and Oudinot. A Jesuit 
might be a leading Protestant, a prominent politician, the wife of 
a cabinet officer, a servant in a family, as Hogan found one, f 
— anything, anywhere. They are everywhere, in every guise, 
judging from the past. 

They have not always Prospered, 

On the first of September, 1759, the Jesuits were expelled from 
Portugal, and sent to Italy on government and other vessels, to 
the number of fifteen hundred, to the Holy Father. 

On the sixth of August, 1762, the expulsion of the Jesuits 
from France was commanded, and the decree was executed two 
years later. 

On the second of April, 1767, the Jesuits were exiled from 
Spain, the home of the inquisition, and the birthplace of Loyola ; 



* Nicolini's "Hist, of the Jesuits," p. 171. 

f "Auricular Confession and Popish Nunneries," pp. 99-110. Boston, 
1845. 



462 THE JESUITS. 

and six thousand of these holy fathers were soon on the mighty 
d^-'ep, sent by ungrateful Spain to the pope. 

The King of Naples, in November, 1767, drove them out of 
his territories. 

The Duke of Parma, in 1768, sent them from his country. 

On the thirteenth of March, 1820, they were driven out of 
Russia by the Emperor Alexander. 

In 1835, the order was again suppressed in Spain; the Cortez 
and the sovereign uniting in the work. 

They were again banished from Portugal by Don Pedro, A. D. 
1834. 

Except Russia, the countries casting forth the Jesuits were all 
intensely Catholic, and yet they could not bear to live on the same 
soil with these '^ holy brethren.^' Perhaps it was on account of 
their exceeding piety that their fellow-worshippers of the papal 
Church preferred their exile. Perhaps their sufferings and dis- 
grace were but another illustration of the truth that the righteous 
are always persecuted. Possibly it might be only a proof that 
the wricked sometimes receive their due, or at any rate a part 
of it. 

THE JESUITS SUPPRESSED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD BY 
CLEMENT XIV., POPE OF ROME. 

If ever a pope acted infallibly right, the above named pontiff 
exhibited unerring judgment when on the 21st of July, 1773, he 
issued a bull, in which he declared : * " After mature delibe- 
ration, out of our certain knowledge, and plenitude of power, we 
do extinguish and suppress the often mentioned society." 

He had several times been threatened with death if he per- 
formed this daring act ; he stated when he signed the bull that, 
" This suppression would be his death ; " and sometime after a slow 
and unusually deadly poison discovered its malignant effects in 
his system, and after lingering torments he expired, poisoned, as he 
nipposed, by a wafer, and as was generally believed, by a Jesuit.t 

* Bower's "History of the Popes," iii. p. 382. Philada., 1845. 
f Id., p. 368-9. Nicolini's " Hist, of tlie Jesuits," pp. 419-20. 



i 



THE JESUITS. 463 

9 

How many of the order were involved in this crime it is impos- 
sible to tell ; for the honor of human nature we trust the number 
was not large. But upon the Society of Jesus that crime rests 
with a withering curse and an indelible infamy. 

Immediately after death, the body of Clement turned black ; the 
muscles of the spine were detached and decomposed ; the removal 
of the pontifical robes from the dead body brought away a great 
portion of the skin ; the hair of his head remained on the pillow 
where he rested, and, with trifling friction the nails fell off. 
Ganganelli was in perfect health before the suppression of the 
Jesuits. 

When the Jesuits fell by the pen of Clement, they had 22,782 
members, scattered over the world. 

On the 7th of August, 1814, Pius YII. reestablished the Society 
of Jesus according to its ancient rules. It exists to-day all over 
the nations. And while its power outside the Catholic Church is 
not so visible as in former times, inside of that great sect Jesuitism 
is triumphant. At no period since Loyola started his order have 
his wily children enjoyed such imperial dominion in the Roman 
Church. They guide the aged pontiff; they regulate the public 
movements of his entire followers ; they ruled the late council so 
numerously attended in the Eternal City. Their enemies in the 
Catholic Church are numerous, talented, learned, and, in some 
cases, truly pious. But they have the priest king, the mastery, and 
any amount of audacity, energy, and unscrupulous ambition. They 
were never so favored with papal benedictions at any former 
period. But God is mighty. He sits upon the foam-crested billow 
in its mighty upheavals ; he drives and bends the whirlwind, whose 
gigantic arms hug the mountain-sides ; from the falling of a sparrow 
to the jar that shivers a world, nothing escapes his eye, or lives 
outside the circle of his government. The death-plotting little 
spider, surrounded by his intricate and cunning web-trap, is insig- 
nificant enough to^us. The Jesuit, in his schemes of craft, and in 
his heartlessness and lust of empire, is just as contemptible in the 
sight of God. 

Chained to his throne, a volume lies, 

With all the fates of men, 
With every angel's form and size 

Drawn by the eternal pen. 



464 THE JESUITS. 



Here he exalts neglected worms 

To sceptres and a crovyn, 
And there the following page he turns, 

And treads the monarch down. 

Protestants are sometimes in an ocean of terror, pursued, as 
they suppose, by the fierce Egyptian warriors of stout old Loyola. 
They should always remember at such a time that this is a Red 
Sea, through which, for them, Jehovah has made a safe road, and 
in which, for the enemies of their faith, he has prepared a sure 
grave. They should remember that beyond these angry waters 
and fierce warriors of St. Ignatius, there is a Canaan of rest and 
triumph, wide as the world, and populous as the human race, where 
their banner of salvation, by grace alone, shall float in serene ma- 
jesty over every hill and valley, over every continent and ocean, 
and over every priest once proud and superstitious, and every heart 
once lost ; and where the hallelujahs of a whole earth redeemed 
shall mingle with the jubilant songs of all heaven triumphant in 
celebrating the death of paganism. Christian and heathen, and the 
victory of Jesus as the Saviour and Lord of Adam's whole 
family ! 

All hail the power of Jesns' name, 
Let angels prostrate fall ; 

Bring forth the royal diadem, 
And crown him Lord of all. 

Let every kindred, every tribe. 

On this terrestrial ball. 
To him all majesty ascribe, 

And crown him Lord of all. 



CONCLUSION. 

EoMANiSM never showed such symptoms of approaching dis- 
solution as it exhibits at this moment. With the exception of 
England and the United States, ruin threatens the papal system 
everywhere. Irish emigration into Britain gives Catholicism the 
appearance of progress in Scotland and England. Germany and 
Ireland are rapidly increasing the Romanists in these States. And 
yet, what population north and south Britain and the United 
States gain, Ireland and Germany lose. It is but a transfer of 
papal forces, and not an augmentation of the army of the pontiff. 
So far from that, every year emigration sets thousands at liberty 
from priestly chains among ourselves, who, had they remained in 
the countries of their nativity, would have been bound still. But 
in all the world besides, in what a sorry state the infallible Church 
is ? The sceptre of the king priest is broken in Italy, and his 
triple crown destined for some antiquarian collection. And never 
was there a ruler over whose dethronement his subjects had greater 
joy. His spiritual authority is barely tolerated in that Italy 
wliere it received adoration for centuries, and where Protestant 
churches are now springing up in scores ; and Avill soon rise up in 
thousands. In France the women respect his holiness ; the chil- 
dren obey him ; and the men smile at his chattering claims to 
infallibility ; in Spain, the dominion of the popes has reached the 
last stage of decay ; and soon it will utterly perish in the land 
which gave birth to St. Dominic of inquisitorial fame ; in Austria, 
the House of Hapsburgh has left the Roman bishop to support 
his tottering spiritual empire himself; and it has given full per- 
mission to his enemies to make war upon his ancient and iniquit- 
ous rule ; in Germany, neither Catholic nor Protestant pays him 
the customary reverence ; and the principles of Dollinger threaten 
to snatch from his priestly sovereignty the last section of that 
30 ' 465 



466 DESTRUCTION OF THE PAPACY. 

mighty nation whose destinies Luther did so much to shape. 
The paramount influence of the Jesuits over the pope has weak- 
ened the bonds by which the great body of liberal priests and 
people throughout the world were united to the " Holy Father." 
The preposterous dogma of infallibility, known by hosts of priests 
to be false in its application to Pius IX., and known by a smaller 
and more learned number to be equally destitute of truth in 
reference to any of his predecessors, is tossing the papal ship 
furiously ; and will yet open her seams and plunge her beneath 
the billows of destruction. 

An elderly lady of the Catholic faith, some months since in 
Europe, in speaking of the calamities of the poor old pope, told 
a gentleman that she intended to leave the Church of Rome, 
^^ For God Almighty was evidently becoming a Protestant," If 
he was ever anything else, it is clear that the whole energies of his 
government are in that direction now, and that the papacy must 
soon vanish from the earth. 

The Roman bishops have built a mountain of superstitions 
upon the gospel ; the mountain is broad as the Catholic world, 
and high enough to insult the angels and defy the Almighty ; but 
that gospel is volcanic in its nature ; it cannot be kept quiet ; 
already the mountain heaves and labors ; and soon the gigantic power 
of the cross underneath it will tear the mountain to pieces, scatter it 
to the four winds of heaven, and send its doctrines of burning 
love all over the earth. 

The popes have erected a vast temple, in which they have en- 
throned the Roman Dagon; it has mighty walls, and many 
worshippers ; and TRUTH, like Samson, has been there for ages, 
.blind, it was supposed, and certainly a prisoner ; but Truth has 
now seized the principal pillar of that idol temple, with the 
strength of omnipotence ; it totters ; the whole building trembles ; 
and soon, amid the songs of angels, the jubilant shouts of holy 
men, and the blessings of Immanuel, Truth will hurl that temple 
from its foundations, and fling its fragments into the abyss ; then — 

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun 
Does his successive journeys run, 
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore. 
Till moons shall wax and wane no more. 



APPENDIX 



THE CEEED OF POPE PIUS IV. ; THE FORM OF FAITH BINDING 
ON ALL THE CLERGY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

In the preface to the bull enjoining this celebrated standard of 
doctrine, Pius orders it to be received by ^'All who may happen 
henceforward to be placed over cathedral and superior churches, or 
who may have to take care respecting their dignities, canonries, 
and any other ecclesiastical benefices Avhatsoever, having the cure 
of souls ; ^^ and by ^^ all persons who shall have charge of monas- 
teries, convents, houses, and any other places, of all regular orders, 
even of military ones, under whatever name or title.^^ 

THE CREED. 

" I, N., with steadfast faith, believe and profess all and every 
particular contained in the symbol of faith, which the Holy 
Roman Church uses, to wit : 

" ^ I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven 
and earth, of all things visible and invisible ; and in one Lord 
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the 
Father before all ages, God of God, light of light, very God of 
very God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father ; by 
whom all things were made : who for us men and for our salva- 
tion came down from heaven, and Avas incarnated of the Holy 
Spirit from the Virgin Mary, and was made man, was crucified 
also for us, under Pontius Pilate, suifered and was buried ; and 
rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, and 
ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of the Father, and 

467 



468 



APPENDIX. 



will again come svith glory to judge the living and the dead, of 
whose kingdom there will not be an end ; and in the Holy Spirit, 
the liord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the 
Son ; who, together with the Father and the Son is adored and 
glorified ; who spake through the prophets ; and one Catholic and 
Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins, 
and I await the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world 
to come. Amen.' 

" The apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions and the other observ- 
ances and constitutions of the same Church I most steadfastly 
admit and embrace. I likewise admit the Holy Scripture accord- 
ing to that sense which our Holy Mother Church has held and does 
hold, whose province it is to judge of the true sense and interpre- 
tation of the Sacred Scriptures. Nor will I ever understand or 
interpret it except according to the unanimous consent of the holy 
fathers.'^ [This doctrine would remove all understanding of 
Scripture out of the Catholic Church.] " I also profess that there 
are truly and properly seven sacraments of the new law instituted 
by our Lord Jesus Christ, and necessary for the salvation of man- 
kind, though not all necessary for each individual, to wit : Baptism, 
confirmation, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders 
(clerical), and matrimony, and that they confer grace, and that of 
these, baptism, confirmation and orders cannot be repeated without 
sacrilege. I also receive and admit all the received and approved 
ceremonies of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of 
all the above-mentioned sacrameuts. I embrace and receive all 
and everything which in the Holy Synod of Trent has been 
defined and declared concerning original sin and justification. I 
profess, likewise, that in the mass is offered to God a true, proper, 
and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead, and that in the 
most holy sacrament of ihe eucharist there is truly, really, and sub- 
stantially the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and that there takes place a conversion of 
the entire substance of the bread into the body and of the entire sub- 
stance of the wine into the blood, which conversion the Catholic 
Church calls transubstantiation. I also confess that under one 
kind alone, Christ is taken whole and entire, and a true sacrament. 
I steadfastly hold that there exists a purgatory, and that the souls 



APPENDIX. 469 

there detained are assisted by the suffrages of the faithful; in like 
manner also that the saints reigning along with Christ are to be 
venerated and invoked, and that they offer up prayers for us, and 
that their relics are to be venerated. I steadfastly assert that the 
images of Christ and of the ever Virgin Mother of God, and in 
like manner of other saints are to be kept and retained, and that 
due honor and veneration are to be awarded to them. I also main- 
tain that the power of indulgences has been left by Christ in his 
Church, and that the use of them is most wholesome to the Chj'istian 
people. I recognise the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman 
Church as the mother '^ [several churches were founded earlier] " and 
mistress of all churches, and I promise and swear true obedience 
to the Roman Pontiff, successor of St. Peter prince of apostles, 
and vicar of Jesus Christ. All other things also delivered, defined, 
and declared by the sacred canons and oecumenical councils, and 
particularly by the holy Synod of Trent, I undoubtingly receive 
and profess, and at the same time all things contrary, and all here- 
sies whatsoever condemned by the Church, and rejected and 
anathematized I in like manner condemn, reject, and anathematize. 
This true Catholic faith, outside of which no one can be saved, 
which at present I readily profess and truly hold, I, IST., promise, 
vow and swear, that I will most steadfastly retain and confess the 
same entire and undefiled to the last breath of life (with God's 
help), and that I will take care, as far as shall be in my power, 
that it be held, taught, and preached by my subjects, or those 
whose charge shall devolve on me in virtue of my office. So help 
me God, and these Holy Gospels of God. 

" But we will that the present letter be read according to custom 
in our Apostolic Chancery. And that they may the more readily 
be open to all, let them, be written out in its Quinternum,* and 
also be printed. 

" Be it, therefore, lawful for no person whatever to infringe this 
page of our will and command, or to contravene it by any rash daring. 
But if any one shall presume to attempt this, let hitn 4\:now that 
he will incur the indignation of Almighty God, and of his blessed 
apostles Peter and Paul. 

* A volume named after tlie number of its leaves. 



470 



APPENDIX, 



" Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the incarnation of 
our Lord, 1564, on the ides of November, and in the fifth year of 
our pontificate. 

"Fed. Cardinal C^sius, 

" Coe, Glorierius.^'* 



THE OATH OF A MODERN CATHOLIC BISHOP AT HIS 
CONSECRATION. 

" I, N., elected to the church of ~N., will from this time hence- 
forth, be faithful and obedient to the blessed apostle Peter, and to 
the Holy Roman Church and to our lord N., Pope N., and to his 
canonical successors. I will not aid by advice or consent or deed, 
in any injury to them in life or limb ; or to their arrest, or to any 
violence being in any way offered to them; or any injuries, under 
any pretext whatsoever. I will not knowingly reveal to any one, 
to their injury, the advice which they shall commit to me by them- 
selves (jr their messengers, or by letter. Saving my order, I will 
assist in retaining and defending the Roman Papacy, and the 
royalties of St. Peter against everyone. I will honorably deal 
with the legate of the Apostolic See in going and returning ; and 
will assist him in his need. I will take care to preserve, defend, 
increase, and advance the rights, honors, privileges, and authority 
of the Holy Roman Church, of our lord the pope, and his aforesaid 
successors. Nor will I assist by counsel, deed or treaty, in any 
machinations against our lord himself, or the same Roman Church, 
which may be evil or prejudicial to their persons, right, honor, 
state, and power. And if I shall know of any such attempts 
being treated of, or set on foot, by any persons whatsoever, I will 
hinder them to the utmost of my power ; and as soon as I possi- 
bly can, will signify it to the same our lord, or to some other who 
shall be able to give him information. I will, with all my power, 
observe, and cause others to observe the rules of the holy fathers, 
the apostolic decrees, ordinances, or dispositions, provisions, and 
commands. To the utmost of my power I will persecute and attack 
(pro posse persequar et impugnabo) heretics, schismatics, and rebels 

* Canones et Decreta, pp. 236-8. Lipsise, 1863. 



APPENDIX. 471 

against the same our lord, and his aforesaid successors. When 
called to a synod I will come, unless prevented by some canonical 
hindrance. Every three years I will, in my own person, visit the 
threshold of the apostles; and I will give to our lord and his suc- 
cessors aforesaid an account of my whole pastoral office, and of all 
things in any way concerning the state of my church, the disci- 
pline of the clergy and people, and the salvation of the souls 
which are committed to my trust ; and on the other hand I will 
humbly receive, and with the utmost diligence obey the apostolic 
(papal) commands. But if I shall be detained by lawful hindrance, 
I will fulfil all that is above mentioned by an appointed messen- 
ger, having special charge of this matter, from among my chapter 
or some other ecclesiastic-al dignitary, or person of station ; or in 
failure of these, by a priest of the diocese ; and in failure of all 
the clergy, by some other presbyter, secular or regular, of respecta- 
ble honesty and piety, fully instructed in all things aforesaid. But 
I will give information concerning any hindrances of this kind, 
by lawful proofs to be transmitted by said messenger to the cardi- 
nal of the Holy Roman Church, who presides in the congregation 
of the sacred council. 

'' I will neither sell nor give, nor pawn the possessions belonging 
to my table ; nor will I enfeoif them anew, nor alienate them in 
any manner, even with the consent of the chapter of my church, 
without the advice of the Roman Pontiff. And if I shall in any 
way proceed to alienate them, I am willing in reality to incur the 
penalties contained in a certain constitution passed upon this sub- 
ject. So help me God, and the Holy Gospels of God.'^ * 

* Pontificale Romanum, pp. 59-61. Antwerp, 1758. 



INDEX 



Absolution, form of, in the early Church, 

205. 
Adamnan, 33. 

Adrian IV. and the Emperor, 106. 
Agnes, St., 406. 
Aidan, 31. 
Alcuin, 435. 

Alexander, the Mason, 114. 
Alexander VI., 341. 
Alfred the Great, 410. 
Alfrid, 33. 
Aloysius, 406. 
Amalgaid, 24. 

Ambrose, St., 57, 151, 199, 200, 203. 
Anglo-Saxons, 16. 
Antioch, 66. 
Antony the Great, 444. 
Aquinas, St. Thomas, 272. 
Arians, 270, 402. 
Arius, 39. 

Armada, the invincible, 128. 
Augustine lands in England, 16. 

terms to the British Bishops, 17. 

miracle, 17. 
Augustine of Hippo, 58, 64, 76, 173, 177, 

181, 199, 203, 403, 434. 
Auto da Fe, 424. 

Bacon, Koger, 410. 
Bangor, 20. 

monks of, 18. 
Barons and Magna Charta, 411. 
Baptism, 153. 

ceremonies of, 154. 

effects, 155. 

Catechism of Trent and Canons, 160. 



Baptism : 

Protestant children baptized by priests, 
163. 
Basil, 199. 
Bede, 94, 435. 
Belisarius, 49. 
Benedict IX., 341. 
Benedict of Nursia, 445. 

his Rule, 446. 
Beorred, 378. 
Berchraans, John, 407. 
Berenger, 185. 
Bertram, 184. 
Bible, 21,31, 32,33. 
Bishop, universal, 81. 
Bishops and presbyters, 53.' 
Bishops on an equality, 60-9. 
Blood of Christ in London, 283. 
Bohorques, de, Maria and Jane, 419. 
Boniface of Germany, oath of, 28. 
Bridius, 28. 

Britain, conversion of, 16. 
Britons, ancient, church of, 19. 

dislike to Saxons, 19. 

Cambrensis, Giraldus, 104. 

Canons, apostolical, 66. 

Canute, 379. 

Cardinals, 229. 

Catholics worthy of honor, 409. 

Celestine, Pope, 43. 

Celibacy of clergy, 245. 

in the early Church, 246. 

in the Council of Nice, 247 

in the Trullo Council, 252. 

under Gregory VII., 253. 
473 



474 



INDEX. 



Celibacy from the eighth to the eleventh 
century, 253. 

in Trent, 257. 

the Greeks and Maronites, 259. 
Chalcedon, Council of, 43. 

ninth canon, 46. 

twenty-eighth canon, 47. 
Chalice, the, at Constance, 193. 
Chalons, Council of, 220. 

at Trent, 193. 
Charles the Bald, 184. 
Charles Carrol, 411. 
Charlemagne, 76, 410. 
Childeric, 89. 
Chillion, Castle of, 422. 
Chrysostom, 58, 76, 181, 198, 396, 402. 
Claver, Peter, 4(i8. 
Clemens Alexandrinus, 180, 399. 
Clement, an Irish missionary, 26 
Clement VI., 273. 
Clothing, clerical, 234. 
Cloveshove, council of, 271. 
Coleman. 21, 33. 
Columba, 22, 30, 31. 
Columbanus, 26, 28. 
Columbus, 411. 

Commandment, the second, removed, 338. 
Confessional, unknown in the early Church, 
198. 

in the middle ages, 206. 

the modern, established 1215, 208. 

canons, 210. 

secrecy and posture, 213. 

questions, 214. 

deaf confessor, ^17. 
Confirmation, 165. 

description of, 167. 
Constance, council of, 436. 
Constantine the Great, 36. 
Constantine Copronymus, 329. 
Constantine Pogonatus, 49. 
Constantinople, council of, 41. 

see elevated, 42, 51. 

another council, 50. 
Cornelius, Pope, 61. 
Council, the fifth general, 48. 
Council, the sixth general, 49. 
Cranmer, 69. 

Cross, the wood of, in Apamea, Persia, 
Constantinople, Rome, England, France, 
and Venice, 281. 



Crozier, the, 233. 

St. Patrick's, 233. 
Cullen, Archbishop, 362. 
Cyprian, 61, 62, 158, 181. 
Cyril, 42. 

Da Costa, 417. 
Dagan, Bishop, 27. 
Damasup, 67. 
Demetrianus, 250. 
Deynoch, 17, 20. 
Dionysius of Alexandria, 173- 
Dioscorus, 45, 71. 
Dominic, St., 413, 447. 
Du Pin's omission, 63. 
Durrow, ancient book of, 31. 

Easter, 17, 20, 21, 27, 32. 
Edgar, 378. 
Edred, 378. 
Education, 368. 

Rome an enemy to, 369. 

Naples, 370. 

separate schools, 371. 

removal of Bible, 372. 

two evils, 373. 
Egbert, 26. 
Eleutherius, 16. 
Eligius, St., 376. 
Elizabeth, Queen, excommunicated, 129 

deposed, 131. 
England, a papal gift, 101. 
Ephesus, council of, 43. 
Episcopacy, 60. 
Equality of the Pope and other Bishops, 

67. 
Ethelbald, 376. 
Ethelwulf, 377. 
Euphemia, St., church of, 43. 
Eusebius, 45, 181. 
Eustathius, 37. 
Eutyches, 43. 

f 
Facundus, 182. 
Faster, John the, 68. 
Ferriers, de, 146. 
Forgeries, donation of Constantine, 96. 

decretals, 97. 
Francis, St., 447. 
Franks, church of, 28. 
Frederic, the Emperor deposed, 132. 



INDEX. 



475 



Gavazzi, 427. 
Gelasius, Pope, 182, 192. 
Gladstone, William E., 370. 
Gregory the Great, on equality of Bishops, 
68. 

on Phocas, 82. 

on Benedict of Nursia, 446. 
Gregory VII., 134, 185. 
Gregory XVI., 325. 
Gutenberg, John, 411. 

Harold, 100. 

Harun, 84. 

Hastings, 101. 

Heaven, the key of, 338. 

Helena, 280. 

Henry IV., the Emperor, deposed, 133. 

Henry III. of England, 380. 

Henry VIII. excommunicated, 123. 

no one shall obey him, 125. 

no social relations with him, 126. 

all warriors must attack him, 127. 

the goods of his subjects to be seized, 
and if they can be caught they are 
to be made slaves, 127. 
Herigar, 185. 
Hertford, council of, 22. 
Hilary of Aries, 68. 
Hilda, St., 21. 
Hinemar, 206. 
Honorius, Pope, 27. 

a condemned heretic, 49, 345. 
Hosius, 37, 39. 
Hubert, Archbishop, 109. 
Huss, John, 273. 
Hymns, 396. 

early, 398. 

Te Deum, 400. 

makers of, 402. 

of Bede and St. Prtrick, 403. 

Protestant hymns in Romish worship, 
406. 

to several saints, 406. 

Ibas, 49. 

Ignatius, 180. 

Ignatius Loyola, 407, 450. 

Image of the Virgin as a trap, 422. 

[mages, 328. 

in second Council of Nice, 329. 

Charlemagne, 330. 

other authorities, 301. 



Images : 

miraculous images, 332. 

removal of second commandment, 335. 
Indulgences, 270. 

bulls authorizing them, 27.3. 

selling them, 275. 

a form, 277. 

Trent on indulgences, 278. 
Infallibility, 340. 

infallible Popes, 341. 

rejected by Catholics, 342. 

Constance and, 342, 344. 

false, 344. 

dogma, 346. 

results, 347. 
Innocent III., 109. 

sends John four rings, 110. 

proclaims an interdict in England, 111, 

absolves John's subjects from allegi- 
ance, 115. 

excommunicates John, 114. 

deposes him, 116. 

gives England to the King of France, 
116. 

he orders a crusade against John, 117. 

he excommunicates the friends of 
Magna Charta, 121. 
Inquisition, 413. 

its aims, 414. 

laws, 414. 

hypocrisy, 417. 

tortures, 421. 

punishments, 423. 

in Rome, 1849, 427. 

Pius IX. canonizes a wicked inquisi- 
tor, 428. 

Catholics hated the inquisition, 429. 

earth never had another, 430. 

its industry and advantages, 431. 
Intention, doctrine of, 357. 
Interdict, 112. 
lona 31. 
Ireland, a papal gift, 102. 

independence lost through Adrian IV., 
106. 

made a kingdom by the Pope, 107. 
Ireland, ancient church of, 23. 

opposition to Rome, 23, 27, 29, 52. 

love for the Bible, 26. 

a training school for missionaries, 
26, 27. 



4l6 



INDEX. 



Irene, 328. 
Ireneus, 54, 389. 
Irishman, the Catholic, 364. 

bitter against Protestant worship, 365. 

a moral convent, 366. 
Ivo, Bishop of Chartres, 207. 

Jerome, 57, 67, 182, 227, 397. 
Jerome of Prague, 274. 
Jesuits, the, 449. 

Loyola, 450. 

order founded, 451. 

motto, 452. 

members, 453. 

officers, 453. 

laws, 454. 

modes of working, 456. 

Pascal and the Jesuits, 457. 

insinuation, 459. 

spies, 460. 

troubles for the troublers, 461. 

re-established, 463. 
John Scotus, 184. 
John, King of England, 108, 379. 

he resigns his kingdoms to the Pope, 
118. 
John XXL, Pope, 341. 
John XXIII., 273. 
.Tonas, Bishop of Orleans, 220. 
Justification, 261. 
Justinian, 50. 

Kells, book of, 31. 
Keys, the, 77. 

Lainez, 455. 

Lanfranc, 185, 207. 

Langton, Stephen, 109. 

Latin, the language of the papal Church, 

389. 
Laurentius' epistle to the Irish, 23. 
Laurentius of Novarra, 199. 
Legions, city of, 18. 
Leo the Great, 44, 71. 
Leo II., Pope, 50. 
Leo the Isaurian, 328. 
Leo X., 34, 274. 
Letters of Cyprian, 63. 

of Augustine, 65. 
Liberius, Pope, 39. 
Llorente, 423. 



Lombards, 90. 
Lucentius, 44. 

Mabillon, father, 183. 

Macedonius, 42. 

Magna Charta nullified by the Pope, 120. 

Marcellus, 40. 

Marciiin, 43, 

Marriage, 236. 

prohibitions in early church, 236. 

the ring, the holy kiss, canons of 
Trent, 238. 

impediments, 241. 

effects of a difference in religion, 241. 
Martin, St., Marquis of, 381. 
Martyr, Justin, 155. 
Mary, the Virgin, 95. 

worship of, 312. 

began in Arabia, 313. 

she works miracles, 314. 

prayers to Mary from Sts. Ephraim, 
Bernard, John Damascen, and An- 
selm, 316. 

Litany of the Virgin, 319. 

two ladders, 321. 

four in Trinity, 322. 

Gospel of Mary, 323. 

Sixtus IV., 324. 

the Saviour and Mary, 326. 

hymn to Mary, 408. 
Mass, the, the eucharist, 169. 

the Scriptures, 170. 

offerings in the primitive Church, 171. 

consecration, 172. 

posture, 173. 

fasting, 173. 

frequency, 173. 

fragments, 174. 

no adoration, no altar, 175. 

communicants, 175. 

carried home, 178. 

no private masses, 179. 

its nature, 179. 

the ordinance real flesh and blood, 183. 

the mass first described by transub- 
stantiation, 186. 

the dogma first adopted, 186. 

a sacrifice, 187. 

the divinity and body in it, 188. 

it is a deity, 189. 

carried in procession, 190. 



INDEX. 



477 



Mass, the, half communion, 192. 
demands for cup, 194. 
Protestant side, 196. 
receipt for one, 381. 
Melito of Sardis, 434. 

Miracles, Alban, Constanstine, St. Donatus, 
Zosimas, James of Nisibis, a Jewish boy, 
Imma, Clovis, Mamertus, St. Swithin, 
St. Dunstan, St. Magnus, St. Kenelm, de 
Broke, Pope Celestine, Vitalis, a woman, 
St. Francis, 297. 
Mission Book, 336. 
Missions, papal, in England, 85, 86. 

in Germany, 87. 
Mitre, 233. 
Monothelites, 49. 

Naitan, King, 33. 
Nennius, 24. 
Neri, Philip, St., 407. 
Nestorius, 43. 
Nice, Council of, 35. 
sixth canon, 37. 

Offa, 91, 376. 
Orders, holy, 225. 

grades, 226. 

decree of Tren.t, 230. 
, insignia of the oflS,ce of Bishops and 
Popes, 233. 

garments of the clergy, 234. 
Oswy, 21, 33. 
Pallium, 91. 
Pandulph, 117. 

John's tribute money, 119. 
Pantaeus, 435. 
Paphnutius, 247. 
Paris, Council of, 221. 
Paris, Matthew, 411. 
Paschasinus, 44. 

Patrick, St., a Protestant, his captivity, 
conversion, call, 24. 

love for the Scriptures, 25. 

his three requests, 25. 

hymn to, 408. 
Paul IV., 107. 

Penances in early Church, 201. 
Penitentiary confessor, 204. 
Pepin, 74. 
Peter has a successor in cursing, 81. 

a deity, 73. 

he whips Laurence of Canterbury, 74. 



Peter, the rock on which the church is built, 
21, 71. 

letter to Pepin, 75. 

not the rock, 76. 

to feed the lambs, 79. 

to bind and loose, 78. 
Philip, King of France, 117. 
Phocas, 81. 
Picts, 30. 
Pius IL, 34. 
Pius IV., 355, 387. 
Popes, in troubles of Bishops, 89. 

in royal disputes, 89. 

benefits they conferred, 93. 

lords of kings, 100. 

above all rulers, 132, 133. 
Position of the Pope in the 11th eentury,101. 
Press, freedom of, 350. 

committee of Trent on it, 351. 

ten of their rules upon it, 352. 
Priests, sincerity of, 392. 

Luther and his parents, 393. 

a miracle, 394. 
Protestants, no salvation for, 386. 
Purgatory, 92. 

its location, 264. 

returned visitors, 264. 

the Greek, 268. 

in Trent, 268. 

Quini-Sextum, the Council of, 50. 

Rabanus Maurus, 184. 

Radbert, Paschasius, 183. 

Ravenna, Exarchate, 90. 

Relics, 280. 

the holy lance, likeness and cradle, and 
a piece of Christ's manger, the stains 
of Pilate, a garment and the hair of 
the Virgin Mary, and the chains of 
Peter and his chair, 283-5. 
parts of the body of the Baptist, of 
Andrew, Luke, Bartholomew, Sam- 
uel, Januarius, and Alban, 287-8. 
of Sergius, Genevieve, St. Martin, 
Guthlac, St. Edmund, St. Wereburge, 
Aquinas, A'becket, 289, 293. 
in the second Council of Nice, and in 
Trent, 294, 295. 

Ring, a Bishop's, 233. 

Rodriguez, Alphonso, 407- 

Romanism dj'ing, 465. 



478 



INDEX. 



Rome, triumph of, at Whitby, 22. 

ft-st great assumption of power, 83. 
Rose, St., of Lima, 406. 
Rufus, William, 379. 

Saints, invocation and worship of, 304. 

Guthlac, St. Edmund, St. Thomas, St. 

Alban, Litany of the Saints, 306. 
in Trent, 310. 
Sanbenito, 423. 
Sardica, Council of, 38, 40. 
Scapular, 315. 

Scotland, ancient Church of, 30. 
pious clergy, 31,32. 
love for the Bible, 32. 
not Romanists, 32, 33. 
Easter, and tonsure, 33. 
Scots, 23. 

Scott, Sir Walter, 409. 
Scriptures, canon of Old and New Testa- 
ments, 433. 
circulation by early disciples, 434. 
versions, 434, 435. 

hatred of them in the 13th century, 435. 
Trent canonizes apocrypha and unwrit- 
ten tradition, 437. 
authenticates the Vulgate, 439. 
forbids Jjrivate judgment, 440. 
prohibits a Catholic version without a 

licence, 441. 
scarcity of Bibles in Rome, and in 
Maynooth College, 443. 
Severn, 17. 
Sicily, 134. 
Singing, 397. 
Sins removed by gifts, 375. 

authorities, 382. 
Sixtus v., 437. 
Slemish, 24. 
Societies, secret, 361. 
authorities, 362. 
Socrates, 250. 
Son of God, substance of, 42. 

natures of, 44. 
Spirit, Holy, 42. 
Spyridion, 251. 
Stephen, Pope, 61. 
Stillingfleet, 59. 
Supererogation, 272. 

Supremacy of Popes denied, 48, 51, 63, 68, 
Synesius, Bishop in Cyrene, 251. 



Tell, William, 411. 

Tertullian, 53, 155, 165, 180, 246. 

Tetzel, 275. 

Theodore, Archbishop, 22. 

Theodore of Mopsuestia, 49. 

Theodoret, 77. 

Theodosius, 43. 

Tiara, 233. 

Tonsure, 232. 

Toulouse, 361. 

Tournan, the Mason, 361. 

Transubstantiation adopted 1215, 186. 

Trenty Council of, 136. 

spirit supposed to be in it, 137. 

those invited to it, 139. 

its presidents, 140. 

tools of the Popes, 142. 

one decree, 143. 

the cup in it, 144. 

one of the speeches in it, 146. 

number of Bishops in it, 148. 

its influence, 150. 

its work, 152. 

Catechism of, 351. 

Unction, extreme, 219. 

adopted in Council of Florence, 222. 

parts anointed, 222. 

mode of application, 224. 
Usher, Archbishop, 59. 

Valdez, Ferdinand, 418. 
Vasconellos, Elizabeth, 422. 
Vatican Council of 1870, 343, 345. 
Vicentius, 36. Vito, 36. 
Victor Emmanuel, 412. 
Victor, Pope, 55. 
Victories, Mohommedan, 83. 
Vigilius, Pope, 49. 
Vitalian, 74, 390. 

Wallace, Sir William, 411. 
Waterford, Synod of, 104. 
Whitby, Council of, 20. ' 
Wilfrid, 21. 

William the Conqueror, 101, 379. 
Winfrid, or Boniface, 87. 

he hews the sacred oak of the Ger- 
mans, 88. 

a slave of the Popes, 88. 
WycklifFe, John, 436. 
Zachary, Pope, 89. 




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